India’s new envoy says committed to strengthening special friendship with Sri Lanka

India's new High Commissioner to Sri Lanka, Santosh Jha, on Friday presented his credentials to President Ranil Wickremesinghe and vowed to work to further strengthen the special friendship with the island nation.

Jha replaces Gopal Baglay, who has been appointed as the next High Commissioner of India to Australia.

Jha, a senior diplomat, was India's Ambassador to the European Union, Belgium & Luxembourg before taking up his assignment in Colombo.

He has the experience of serving as a member of negotiating teams for Free Trade Agreements (FTA) with Sri Lanka and the European Union respectively.

As the new High Commissioner of India to Sri Lanka, Jha is poised to further strengthen the bilateral ties between India and Sri Lanka, fostering cooperation and collaboration in various domains, the Sri Lankan President's Media Division said in a press release.

The newly appointed Indian High Commissioner wrote in the guest book of President Wickremesinghe that India and Sri Lanka share deep-rooted bonds in history, geography, culture and people-to-people ties.

He highlighted the growth of ties in political, economic, and security fields over the decades, emphasising India's role as Sri Lanka's close neighbour, largest trade partner and a key development partner.

Jha expressed his commitment to strengthening the special friendship between the two countries, fostering closer collaboration in trade, investment, energy, connectivity and other areas. He aligned his goals with the Vision Statement agreed upon by the leaders of both nations, expressing confidence that their cooperation would lead to shared prosperity, progress and regional stability.

The new High Commissioner thanked President Wickremesinghe for the warm welcome and looked forward to constructive engagements in the future.

Minister of Health and Industries Dr Ramesh Pathirana, who is the current Acting Foreign Minister, and President's Secretary Saman Ekanayake were present on this occasion, the release said.

Jha has 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.

He also served in Colombo from 2007-2010 as a 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,'' the Indian High Commission said in a press release.

Jha has also served as a member of negotiating teams for Free Trade Agreements (FTA) with Sri Lanka and the European Union respectively, the Sri Lankan President's Office said.

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