Kanwal Sibal is a retired Indian foreign secretary and a former Ambassador to Russia between 2004 and 2007. He also held ambassadorial positions in Turkey, Egypt, France and was Deputy Chief of Mission in Washington DC. In 2017, he received the Padma Shree — the fourth highest civilian award — from the President of India for public service. In the same year, he was decorated by the Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov for Contributions to International Cooperation.