New Indian High Commissioner for Sri Lanka assumes duties

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 24 November 2009, 12:45 GMT]
Ashok K. Kantha, assumed duties on 9th November as the new Indian High Commissioner for Sri Lanka in place of Alok Prasad who has been appointed Deputy Defence Advisor in the Indian Foreign Ministry under Chief Defence Advisor Mr. M. K. Narayanan. The new High Commissioner has been serving as the Indian High Commissioner for Malyasia from April 2007 until 2009 November before being appointed to Sri Lanka.

Ashok K. Kantha was the chief of South Asia section in Indian Foreign Ministry from 2003 to 2007 during which he had played an important part in developing relations between India and other countries including China and Japan.

Before 1997, Ashok K. Kantha was serving in the Indian Embassies in Singapore, China and USA. He had been involved in furthering relationships with Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan and China along with the Indian Foreign Ministry in New Delhi.

He gad also been the special aide to the chief of planning committee in 1980.

Ashok K. Kantha, born on 14 May 1955, earned his degree in History in Patna University in 1975 and worked as an officer in State Bank of India for a short period after graduation.

Joining the Indian Foreign Service in July 1977 he learnt Chinese language in Singapore Nan Yang University from 1979 to 1981.