Gaitri Issar Kumar

Gaitri Issar Kumar (born 20 June 1962) is an Indian diplomat who is the current High Commissioner of India to the United Kingdom.

Gaitri Issar Kumar (mid-left).
Her Excellency

Gaitri Issar Kumar

IFS
High Commissioner of India to the United Kingdom
Assumed office
23 June 2020
Preceded byRuchi Ghanashyam
Ambassador of India to Belgium and the EU
In office
17 April 2017 – June 2020
Preceded byManjeev Singh Puri
Succeeded bySantosh Jha
Personal details
Born (1962-06-20) 20 June 1962
Bangalore, Karnataka, India
OccupationIndian Foreign Service

Biography

Kumar was born on 20 June 1962 in Bangalore to a Punjabi family. She joined the Indian Foreign Service as part of the 1986 batch of officers and learned Portuguese as her first and compulsory foreign language. She later studied German and gained working proficiency in French and Nepali along with fluency in Punjabi and Hindi.[1][2] After serving in several roles, including as the social secretary to the President of India in 2012,[1][2] Kumar was appointed Ambassador to Belgium and the European Union on 14 June 2017.[3] In a 2019 interview, she emphasised the culture of India and talked about the efforts of the embassy to promote it in Brussels.[4] During her ambassadorship, Kumar met with members of the European Parliament to convey India's perspective in light of resolutions against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019.[5] After the retirement of her predecessor Ruchi Ghanashyam, Kumar became the next High Commissioner in London in June 2020.[6] As High Commissioner, Kumar has prioritized deepening Indo-UK ties and trade post-Brexit as well as promoting recognition of Indian territorial claims in the UK.[7][8][9]

References
  1. Civil List of the Indian Foreign Service (PDF) (Report). Indian Foreign Service. 1 April 2013. Archived from the original (PDF) on 22 April 2018.
  2. "High Commissioner". High Commission of India, London. Retrieved 2020-11-10.
  3. "India appoints envoys to Italy, Denmark, Belgium, EU". The Tribune. 14 June 2017. Retrieved 2020-11-10.
  4. Dietrich, Barbara; Vermeir, Maarten. "Interview with H.E. Gaitri Issar Kumar". Diplomatic World. Retrieved 2020-11-10.
  5. "Brexit will oust 73 members, many of them anti-CAA, from Euro parliament". The Times of India. 31 January 2020.
  6. "New Indian High Commissioner Gaitri Kumar arrives in the UK". Outlook India. Retrieved 2020-11-10.
  7. "UK, India need very clear roadmap to strengthen ties, says High Commissioner Gaitri Kumar". Businessworld. ANI. Retrieved 2020-11-10.
  8. "India seeks expeditious extradition of Vijay Mallya, Nirav Modi from U.K." The Hindu. London. 5 November 2020. Retrieved 2020-11-10.
  9. Canton, Naomi (14 August 2020). "India will take all measures to safeguard its sovereignty, territorial integrity: New envoy to UK". The Times of India. Retrieved 2020-11-10.
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