Veteran Congress leader Anand Sharma resigned on Sunday as chairman of the party’s Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA), saying the panel should be reconstituted to bring in younger leaders “of potential and promise” for continuity.
In a letter to Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, Sharma — who has led the DFA for around a decade since its last constitution in 2018 — expressed gratitude for the responsibility entrusted to him but said the time had come for leadership renewal. He will remain a member of the Congress and its top decision-making body, the Congress Working Committee (CWC).
Sharma, a key Congress voice on global affairs for nearly four decades, has been central to shaping India’s diplomatic outreach. He played a pivotal role in the Indo–US nuclear deal negotiations, secured India-specific waivers at the Nuclear Suppliers Group, institutionalised the India–Africa partnership, and convened the first India–Africa summit.
He was also part of recent all-party delegations sent abroad after Operation Sindoor, and previously represented India’s position to the world after the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks. As commerce minister, Sharma oversaw India’s signing of the first-ever WTO Agreement and other comprehensive trade pacts.
In his letter, Sharma highlighted the DFA’s role in fostering ties with like-minded parties worldwide and creating mechanisms for leadership exchanges. He recalled his long association with international initiatives — from leading the 1985 NAM Youth Conference and 1987 Anti-Apartheid Conference to organising the 2007 Satyagraha Centenary Conference and the 2014 international conference on Jawaharlal Nehru’s 125th birth anniversary, both chaired by Sonia Gandhi.
“These initiatives,” he noted, “received worldwide acclaim.”
