KATHMANDU: Seasoned diplomat Naveen Srivastava was on Tuesday appointed as India’s ambassador to Nepal.
The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) announced the appointment a day after Prime Minister Narendra Modi paid a visit to Lumbini in Nepal.
Mr Srivastava, a 1993 batch Indian Foreign Service (IFS), is currently serving as additional secretary in the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA).
Vinay Mohan Kwatra, who became foreign secretary over two weeks ago, was serving as India’s envoy to Nepal before Mr Srivastava’s appointment.
“Naveen Srivastava, presently Additional Secretary in the ministry, has been appointed as the next Ambassador of India to Nepal. He is expected to take up the assignment shortly,” the MEA said in a brief statement.
In his capacity as additional secretary in the east Asia division, Mr Srivastava headed the Indian delegation in several rounds of diplomatic talks in the virtual format with China on the eastern Ladakh border row.
He was also part of the Indian delegation in a few rounds of military talks between the two sides on the border row. Nepal is important for India in the context of its overall strategic interests in the region, and the leaders of the two countries have often noted the age-old “Roti Beti” relationship.