Senior Congress leader Salman Khurshid took over the External Affairs Ministry from his predecessor S M Krishna hours after the oath taking ceremony on Sunday.

The swift change in office is presumably due to the minister’s committed engagements next week. Over the next few days, Khurshid, who was a junior minister for external affairs between 1993 and 1996, would have to attend a ministerial meeting of Indian Ocean Rim Association for Regional Cooperation in Gurgaon and meet former Bangladesh Prime Minister Begum Khalida Zia who is visiting India. More than 10 foreign ministers from Asian and African nations are attending the IOR conference.

The new minister will be briefed on several important regional and global issues by foreign secretary Ranjan Mathai and other ministry officials in the next few days.

A beginning was made on Sunday itself when Khurshid received an hour-long briefing from Mathai.