NEW DELHI: Narendra Modi broke precedent on Thursday by appointing S Jaishankar , who was foreign secretary from January 2015 to January 2018, as Cabinet minister, a decision that signalled not only the Prime Minister’s confidence in him, but also showed that both men share a similar vision of the direction of India’s foreign policy.Jaishankar’s appointment opens the door for lateral entry at the highest level of the government, as well as the entry of technocrats in ministerial roles.As foreign secretary, Jaishankar occupied the right-hand corner office on the first floor of MEA headquarters. If he takes over as minister, as is being widely speculated, he will remain on the first floor, but shift to the office in the other corner. It's a distance of just a few feet, but Jaishankar has come a very long way.With Jaishankar back at the top level of the government - after a brief stint with the Tatas -- and Ajit Doval re-appointed as national security adviser, Modi’s foreign and security policy team is in place.In his first term, Modi had plucked out Parameshwar Iyer from the World Bank to become water and sanitation secretary and he successfully led the Swachch Bharat campaign. This time, the PM has taken it several notches higher, aided by the massive mandate he has just received.Jaishankar’s appointment will be greeted with relief in many parts of the world, which has been waiting for India to get a new government.Modi holds Jaishankar in high esteem since his days as Gujarat chief minister. His first visit to China was during Jaishankar’s tenure as India’s ambassador to the country, a visit that cemented the relationship between the two. After Modi became Prime Minister, it was Jaishankar, as India’s ambassador to the US, who smoothed his passage after a decade-long visa ban. Modi and Barack Obama hit it off and the spectacle at Madison Square Garden marked the beginning of the PM’s strong bonding with India’s diaspora across the world.Jaishankar understood Modi’s desire to put the India-US relationship on a firm footing while balancing ties with China and Russia. He also understood Modi’s intention that India should strive to become a “leading power” playing a proactive role in global politics.In the next three years, as foreign secretary, Jaishankar kept a steady focus on the India-US relationship. His mettle shone through in a trial by fire during the 2017 Doklam crisis. Modi, Jaishankar and Doval found a way out, sometimes working all night together for 72 days, even as Chinese hysteria was enough to test the most formidable resolve.The new team has a number of foreign, security and trade challenges. During the long spell of electioneering in India, the world has taken turns that will need the highest order of political and diplomatic dexterity. Jaishankar's brief will be to help provide it.