Kathmandu, March 1

Newly-appointed Indian Ambassador to Nepal Vinay Mohan Kwatra arrived in Kathmandu this morning.

Indian embassy Spokesperson Abhishek Dubey confirmed Kwatra’s arrival in Kathmandu. He landed at Tribhuvan International Airport at around 11:00am. He was received at the airport by Deputy Chief of Mission at the embassy Ajay Kumar.

Kwatra will be replacing Manjeev Singh Puri as India’s ambassador to Nepal. Puri, who was appointed ambassador in March 2017, completed his tenure and returned home in December.

Kwatra has experience of nearly 30 years in the Indian Foreign Service. He joined the service in 1988 and served as the third secretary and the second secretary in the Permanent Mission of India in Geneva till 1993. He served as the deputy chief of mission in Beijing.

Kwatra represented India as the head of Trade, Economy and Finance Bureau at the SAARC Secretariat in Nepal from 2006 till 2010. He was the Minister (Commerce) in the Embassy of India, Washington, from 2010 to 2013.

Kwatra has also served as the head of Americas Division, dealing with India’s relations with Canada and the United States. In 2017, Kwatra was appointed the Indian envoy to France.

Prior to this, he served as joint secretary in the office of the Prime Minister of India (2015-2017).