Ashok Kumar, currently serving as the High Commissioner of India to Zambia, has been appointed as the next Ambassador of India to the Republic of Belarus, according to a statement from the Ministry of External Affairs.
Kumar is expected to take up his new assignment shortly.
A career diplomat, Kumar joined the Indian Foreign Service in 1998. His diplomatic journey began in the Embassy of India in Syria, where he served from 2000 to 2003. During this time, he learned Arabic as part of his compulsory foreign language training and worked as Second Secretary. He was later posted to the Consulate General of India in Jeddah in 2004, where he handled Commercial and Community Welfare Departments.
Returning to New Delhi in 2006, Kumar was appointed Deputy Secretary in the East and Southern Africa Division, focusing on regional organizations such as the East African Community (EAC), COMESA, and SADC, as well as development cooperation projects. He later moved to the Integrated Finance Division of the Ministry of External Affairs.
Kumar’s subsequent overseas assignment took him to the Embassy of India in Berlin, where he served as First Secretary and Counsellor (Economic and Commerce) from 2009 to 2013. He was then appointed Deputy High Commissioner to the High Commission of India in Mauritius, serving from 2013 to 2017.
Upon returning to New Delhi, he was appointed Joint Secretary (Hindi and Sanskrit) in 2018-2019. During this period, he was also appointed the first resident Ambassador of India to Djibouti, tasked with establishing the mission and overseeing the Embassy of India in Sana’a, as well as the Camp office in Djibouti.
Over his nearly 23-year career in the Indian Foreign Service, Kumar has played an integral role in organizing major international events, including the 1st and 2nd India-Africa Forum Summits in New Delhi (2008) and Addis Ababa (2011), as well as the 10th and 11th World Hindi Conferences in Bhopal (2015) and Mauritius (2018).
Kumar holds a B.Sc. (Hons) in Geology, an MSc in Applied Geology, and an MPhil in Engineering Geology from the University of Delhi.
(Inputs from ANI)