The Ministry of External Affairs said in a statement that diplomat Vikram K. Doraiswami of India has been named as the country’s new High Commissioner to the United Kingdom. He is an Indian Foreign Service (IFS) officer from the 1992 batch and has been the country’s high commissioner to the People’s Republic of Bangladesh, since 2020.
He had earlier served as an additional secretary in-charge of international organisations and summits at the headquarters of the Ministry of External Affairs in Delhi.
He has held positions as the Indian ambassador to the US, South Korea, Uzbekistan, and as the prime minister’s private secretary.
The appointment of the Indian diplomat occurred at a time when Rishi Sunak, a contender for prime minister of Britain, declared his desire to alter the UK-India relationship in order to facilitate easier access for UK students and businesses in India.
“We know the UK-India relationship is important. We represent the living bridge between our two countries,” Sunak said during a campaign hustings event hosted by the Conservative Friends of India (CFIN) diaspora organisation in north London on Monday evening. “We are all very aware of the opportunity for the UK to sell things and do things in India, but actually we need to look at that relationship differently because there is an enormous amount that we here in the UK can learn from India,” he was quoted by news agency PTI.
“He (Vikram Doraiswami) is expected to take up the assignment shortly,” the External Affairs Ministry said in the statement.