LONDON, Vikram Doraiswami this week ends his tenure as India’s High Commissioner to the United Kingdom and heads to Beijing, where he will take up his new role as Ambassador to China.
British Foreign Office Secretary for Indo-Pacific Seema Malhotra praised Doraiswamy’s role in taking the bilateral partnership to “new levels” during his more than three years in London.
The British Indian minister described his “calmness” and charisma in overseeing the successful conclusion of the India-UK Free Trade Agreement as one of the key highlights of the bilateral relationship last year.
“You have taken the partnership between our two countries to a new level, played a central role in concluding the free trade agreement and contributed to ensuring that the trade agreement meets every challenge,” Malhotra said at a recent farewell party in London.
“Your work has helped unlock new investment through the UK-India Infrastructure Financing Bridge. These strong foundations will continue to work and become part of our story, our relationship, our investment in each other’s countries for many years to come… Beijing’s gain will be London’s loss,” she said.
Doraiswamy was born in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of India in 1992 and is fluent in Mandarin. He has served in the Indian Embassy in Beijing for nearly four years since September 1996.
“Nothing is really finished and settled. It is a work in progress. It always will be a work in progress,” he told a gathering of MPs, government officials and diaspora representatives.
“The FTA essentially provides us with a platform to increase trade and investment flows and, simply put, our investment philosophy is that India’s growth and success depends on the UK’s growth and success and vice versa. So the work is not done yet and it will never stop,” he said.
The senior diplomat spent his final days in London this week interacting with multi-faith communities and holding discussions around strengthening bilateral partnerships in the cultural sector, including through the UK’s Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan.
Alistair Harrison, Marshal of the Diplomatic Corps in London, and others met with Doraiswami at India House to convey farewell wishes on behalf of King Charles III, “underscoring the strength, continuity and common tradition of India-UK diplomatic relations.”
“We deeply appreciate your leadership, strong governance and policy direction. We wish you all the best in your new role,” said Commonwealth Secretary-General Shirley Botchwey, who thanked him for serving as Chair of the Commonwealth Secretariat Executive Committee.
Secretary in the Ministry of External Affairs Periasamy Kumaran, also from the 1992 IFS batch, has been appointed as the new High Commissioner of India to the UK and is expected to assume charge in London soon.
This article was generated from automated news agency feeds without modifications to the text.
