Beginning a phase of diplomatic reshuffle, the Ministry of External Affairs changed its envoys to London and Washington DC on Thursday. The Ministry announced that Navtej Singh Sarna (IFS 1980), High Commissioner to U.K., will be the next Ambassador in Washington DC.
The Ministry also announced that Taranjit Singh Sandhu will be the next High Commissioner to Sri Lanka. Sources informed that the current Indian High Commissioner in Colombo, Yash K. Sinha is likely to take Mr. Sarna’s place in London.
Mr. Sarna had been posted to London on October 31 2015 and oversaw several high level visits as well as controversies during his tenure in the last eleven months. Mr. Sandhu, an officer from 1988 cadre of IFS, was posted in Colombo during the Sri Lankan peace talks of the early 2000s and is known to be a specialist on the island nation.
The postings in London and Washington DC are significant in view of the Brexit related developments in the United Kingdom and the ongoing Presidential campaign in the United States. These announcements are likely to start a round of several fresh appointments in the Indian diplomatic missions in the closing months of the year.
