Asia

India Appoints Indo-Pacific Expert as Its Next Ambassador to US

In an announcement put out by the Indian government on Thursday, seasoned diplomat Harsh Vardhan Shringla was appointed to the post to replace the incumbent ambassador Navtej Sarna.
Sputnik

India has named an astute man in South Asian and Indo-Pacific matters as the new ambassador to the United States of America. Foreign Policy observers opine that Shringla is the best bet for India to pursue its "shared interest with the United States".

Shringla is currently the Indian High Commissioner in Bangladesh. The 1984-batch Indian Foreign Service diplomat is expected to take up his new assignment shortly, the Ministry of External Affairs release read.

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"India has sent the best person to the United States. Shringla is an able man for the assignment as some of the biggest challenges for the country are in its immediate neighbourhood and in the Indo-Pacific region. He is an expert in these matters and hence would help to pursue the shared interest of India and US in the region", foreign relations expert and former ambassador Kanwal Sibal told Sputnik.

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Two of his most recent postings in the 34-year-long diplomatic career of Shringla have been Indian Ambassador to Thailand, and then to Bangladesh. He also served in UNESCO, United Nations (New York), Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City (both in Vietnam), and in Israel and South Africa.

Shringla studied at St Stephen's college Delhi and worked in the private sector and public sectors before he was selected for the Indian Foreign Service. He speaks French, Vietnamese and Nepalese, in addition to English and Hindi.

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