New Delhi: The external affairs ministry has asked all Union secretaries and state chief secretaries to instruct ministers in state governments and junior officials not to directly approach any foreign country for assistance. In a letter sent to these officials, the ministry said there have been several instances of junior officials in Central ministries directly corresponding with foreign governments without going through the external affairs ministry.

"There have also been cases of ministers in state governments writing directly to foreign governments seeking foreign aid without going through the ministry of external affairs or other concerned ministries of the Central government or Indian missions abroad," said the letter sent to all secretaries of the Central government and chief secretaries of states and union territories.

Direct correspondence with foreign states violated established norms of interaction with foreign governments, it said. "Some of these communications have caused embarrassment and were not acted upon by the foreign governments," it pointed out.

The letter said there was a standing instruction on "channels of communications between the government of India and state governments on the one hand and foreign governments and their missions in India and international organisations on the other", which indicates that all communications with foreign governments should be made through the external affairs ministry.

The letter asked the officials of the Central and state government to circulate these instructions to all concerned in the ministries and state governments.