New Indian High Commissioner takes charge

• He had earlier served as Ambassador of India to Uzbekistan from 2019-2020 and as the Deputy Chief of Mission at the Indian Embassy in Washington, DC from 2017-2019

New Indian High Commissioner Santosh Jha presented his credentials to President Ranil Wickremesinghe yesterday at a ceremony held at the Presidential Secretariat and assumed duties, a statement from the Indian High Commission said.

A senior Indian diplomat, Mr. Jha was India’s Ambassador to the European Union, Belgium and Luxembourg before taking up his assignment in Colombo. He had earlier served as Ambassador of India to Uzbekistan from 2019-2020 and as the Deputy Chief of Mission at the Indian Embassy in Washington, DC from 2017-2019. He has held key positions in the Ministry of External Affairs in New Delhi, including as head of the Division for Human Resources and Management Affairs, Division for Relations with Western Europe and the European Union, and the Policy Planning Division.

High Commissioner Jha had also served in Colombo from 2007-2010 as Counsellor at the High Commission, handling work related to commercial and economic matters. During this period, in particular, he was pivotal in building the architecture of India-Sri Lanka development cooperation.