India names new Permanent Representative to Geneva UN offices

New Delhi March 30 (IANS) Rajiv Kumar Chander a 1983 batch Indian Foreign Service officer was on Thursday appointed the Ambassador and Permanent Representative of India to the UN offices in Geneva.

Chander who at present is the Consul General in Vancouver Canada is expected to take up his new assignment shortly the External Affairs Ministry said in a statement.

He will succeed Ajit Kumar at the Geneva office.

Chander earlier served as Deputy Permanent Representative in the Geneva office from 2006 to 2009.

His first assignment abroad was at the Embassy of India in Moscow after which he returned to New Delhi to handle political work relating to Bangladesh. He was posted to Germany in the early 1990s where he worked as First Secretary/Counsellor (Political) and then in New Delhi as Director (UN).

Chander was posted to St. Petersburg as Consul General from 2000 to 2002 and then proceeded on deputation to the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (Saarc) headquarters based in Kathmandu for four years.

He was in-charge in New Delhi of political work relating to Gulf countries as well as Haj related matters.

Chander served as India s Ambassador to Ukraine from July 2011 to July 2015.

--IANS
ab/vt