New Indian HC for Sri Lanka: Who is Santosh Jha

December 22, 2023 at 2:43 PM

Senior Indian diplomat Santosh Jha assumed charge as the High Commissioner of India to Sri Lanka today (Dec 22).

Santosh Jha assumed duties after presenting his credentials to Sri Lankan President Ranil Wickremesinghe at a ceremony held at the Presidential Secretariat.

According to the Indian High Commission, Jha was India’s Ambassador to the European Union, Belgium & Luxembourg before taking up his assignment in Colombo. 

He had earlier served as Ambassador of India to Uzbekistan from 2019-2020, and as the Deputy Chief of Mission at the Indian Embassy in Washington DC from 2017-2019.  

He has held key positions in the Ministry of External Affairs in New Delhi, including as head of the Division for Human Resources and Management Affairs, the Division for Relations with Western Europe and the European Union, and the Policy Planning Division.

High Commissioner Jha had also served in Colombo from 2007-2010 as Counsellor at the High Commission, handling work related to commercial and economic matters.  During this period, in particular, he was pivotal in building the architecture of India-Sri Lanka development cooperation. (NewsWire)