Obama says Kerry will be extraordinary secretary of state as Senate backs nomination

WASHINGTON: President Barack Obama has said John Kerry's distinguished career has prepared him to guide American diplomacy in the years ahead as the US Senate okayed the senator to be next secretary of state with a rare show of overwhelming bipartisan support.

The Senate voted 94-3 to approve the White House nomination for the top diplomatic job, paving the way for Kerry to take over from Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton on Friday.

Obama noted in a statement that Kerry has earned the respect of leaders around the world and the confidence of Democrats and Republicans in the Senate.

"I am confident he will make an extraordinary Secretary of State.

I look forward to his counsel and partnership in the years ahead as we ensure American leadership in the world and advance the interests and values that keep our nation strong," the US president said.

Kerry, 69, has been chairman of the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee in the last four years and as Democratic candidate contested the 2004 election against George W Bush. He co-authored a $ 7.5 billion economic assistance legislation for Pakistan and has been an advocate of strong bilateral ties between the two nations.

He will become the 68th top US diplomat and the first white man to hold the post since Warren Christopher in 1997, The Washington Post noted in a report.

Kerry, who played the role of a troubleshooter for the Obama Administration in Pakistan and Afghanistan on some very critical occasions in the last four years, is expected to continue his focus on the region as South and Central Asian countries closely watch security and political transition in Afghanistan.

At his confirmation hearing last week, Kerry vowed to resume US efforts toward a Middle East peace settlement.

"He assumes the post amid a civil war in Syria that has killed an estimated 60,000 people, stalled nuclear negotiations with Iran and the spread of militancy across North Africa. US relations with Russia are at a low point, the United States is struggling to manage a changing relationship with a rising China and the prospects for new Middle East peace efforts appear dim," the Post commented in view of current global scenario.