&imwidth=800&imheight=600&format=webp&quality=medium "Who is Dinesh K Patnaik? India appoints new High Commissioner to Canada")
Dinesh K Patnaik has been appointed as the next High Commissioner of India to Canada, the Ministry of External Affairs said in a statement on Thursday (Aug 28). His appointment comes as the two nations reset their ties nearly nine months after New Delhi withdrew its High Commissioner Sanjay Kumar Verma and other senior diplomats amid the diplomatic tensions. He has been serving as the ambassador to the Kingdom of Spain since his appointment in November 2021.
“Shri Dinesh K. Patnaik (IFS: 1990), presently Director General, Indian Council for Cultural Relations, has been appointed as the next Ambassador of India to the Kingdom of Spain,” the MEA said in the statement.
The ties between New Delhi and Ottawa degraded over Canada’s lack of action in tackling Khalistani separatists. Former Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau also accused India of killing Khalistani separatist Hardeep Singh Nijjar, without providing any proof.
Who is Dinesh K Patnaik?
Dinesh K Patnaik, a 1990 batch Indian Foreign Service (IFS) officer, is one of the most senior diplomats in the country. He has also served as the deputy high commissioner to the UK from 2016 to 2018, where he handled the Khalistan problem within the Indian diaspora, which is similar to the case in Canada.
The IIM-Kolkata graduate has over 30 years of experience in assignments within India and in foreign nations. He has also served in various missions, including Moscow, Geneva, Dhaka, Beijing, Vienna, Myanmar and the United Nations. He also served as Director of Policy Planning and Research Division in the Ministry of External Affairs.
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His appointment comes after the exit of former High Commissioner of India to Canada Sanjay Kumar Verma and other senior diplomats, who were stationed in Canada in October 2024 after the Trudeau government declared them as ‘Persons of Interest’ in an ongoing investigation involving the murder of Nijjar.
