Amit Kumar appointed as next Ambassador of India to Republic of Korea

New Delhi: Amit Kumar, an IFS officer of the 1995 batch, has been appointed as the next Ambassador of India to the Republic of Korea, the Ministry of External Affairs informed.
He is presently the Consul General of India in Chicago, "Amit Kumar (IFS: 1995), presently Consul General, Consulate General of India, Chicago, has been appointed as the next Ambassador of India to the Republic of Korea," read the MEA statement. He is expected to take up his assignment shortly.
Earlier, the position was held by Sripriya Ranganathan, an Indian Foreign Services (IFS) officer of the 1994 batch. Before joining the Foreign Services, Ranganathan obtained her master's Degree in History, with a specialisation in Modern Indian History, from Delhi University.
She served in Myanmar as the second in command at the Embassy of India, Yangon. Her other overseas postings were in Ankara and Hong Kong.
During her multiple years of experience in headquarters, she has served in various capacities in the Ministry of External Affairs as well as in the Ministry of Commerce and Industry. She served as Joint Secretary (Director General) responsible for relations with Bangladesh and Myanmar.
Ranganathan has also headed the Ministry's SAARC Division and Policy Planning Divisions. Earlier, she served as Director in the Disarmament and International Security Affairs Divisions and as Under Secretary in the Administration and Europe West Divisions. In the course of her secondment to the Department of Commerce, she served in the Export Promotion (Agricultural Products) and the Trade Policy Divisions.
India-Republic of Korea (RoK) relations have made great strides in recent years and have become truly multidimensional, spurred by a significant convergence of interests, mutual goodwill, and high-level exchanges.
According to the data from Korea and the Ministry of Trade, Industry, and Energy (MOTIE), Korea and India have a strong economic partnership that is rapidly expanding.
"Bilateral trade between the two countries reached USD 23.7 billion in 2021, surpassing USD 21.5 billion in 2018. This was the highest-ever trade volume between the two countries, representing a 40 per cent increase over the previous year and a total of USD 16.9 billion," as per KOTRA, the commercial section of the Embassy of the Republic of Korea.
PM Narendra Modi paid a state visit to South Korea from February 21-22, 2019 at the invitation of then-South Korean President Moon Jae-in, during which both sides held wide-ranging discussions on defence, economic, cultural, and scientific cooperation.
Both the leaders unveiled a bust of Mahatma Gandhi at the prestigious Yonsei University of Seoul. PM Modi also gifted a Bodhi sapling to Gimhae City and received the Seoul Peace Prize.
Six MOUs were signed on start-ups, joint issues of a postal stamp, combating trans-border and international crime, trade facilitation, roadways, and media.
PM Modi and President Moon met again on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Osaka, Japan on 28 June 2019, and exchanged opinions on diverse fields including economic and defense industry cooperation as well as people-to-people exchanges. (ANI)