New Delhi: Reenat Sandhu, an Indian Foreign Service (IFS) officer of 1989 batch has been appointed the new Ambassador to the Kingdom of the Netherlands. Currently posted in the Ministry of External Affairs as Secretary, Sandhu will replace Pradeep Kumar Rawat, also the Permanent Representative of India to the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) and responsible for India’s relations with the International Court of Justice, the Permanent Court of Arbitration and other legal institutions in The Hague. Rawat joined the Indian Foreign Service in 1990.

According to an official communiqué, Muktesh Kumar Pardeshi, an IFS officer of 1991 batch, presently High Commissioner of India to New Zealand, has been concurrently accredited as the next High Commissioner of India to the Republic of Vanuatu with his residence in Wellington.

Prior to his New Zealand assignment, Pardeshi was the Ambassador of India to Mexico from April 2016 to June 2019. He also concurrently served as the High Commissioner to Belize. During his tenure, India-Mexico ‘Privileged Partnership’ saw huge advancement. Bilateral trade increased from US$ 5.9 billion in 2015 to US$ 10.15 billion in 2018, thus registering 75 per cent growth over a three-year period. India participated as the Guest of Honour Country at the 46th Cervantino International Festival 2018 and the 33rd International Book Fair Guadalajara 2019. /BI/