Senior diplomat Indra Mani Pandey appointed as Secretary General of BIMSTEC

Seasoned diplomat Indra Mani Pandey will be the new secretary general of the seven-nation grouping BIMSTEC, in a first for an Indian official to be appointed to the influential position of the regional bloc.

Besides India, the BIMSTEC (Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation) comprises Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Thailand, Nepal and Bhutan.

Pandey, a 1990-batch Indian Foreign Service (IFS) official, is currently serving as India's permanent representative to the United Nations and other international organisations in Geneva.

India has been making concerted efforts to make BIMSTEC a vibrant forum for regional cooperation as initiatives under SAARC (South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation) were not moving forward for a variety of reasons.

The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) on Friday announced Pandey's appointment as the next secretary general of the BIMSTEC.

"This is the first time that an Indian will hold the position of the secretary general of BIMSTEC," it said in a statement, adding that he will take up the assignment shortly.

Pandey will succeed Bhutan's Tenzin Lekphell as the BIMSTEC secretary general.

India has attached high importance to the BIMSTEC with a view to expand regional cooperation in the Bay of Bengal region.

Having an Indian diplomat, with long experience in multilateral diplomacy, as secretary general of the BIMSTEC will contribute to India's endeavours in strengthening the grouping, said an Indian official.

Ambassador Pandey has been the Permanent Representative of India to the United Nations and other international organisations in Geneva since September 2020.

Before taking up the post, he served as additional secretary in the Disarmament and International Security Affairs Division of the MEA in Delhi.

He has served as ambassador of India to Oman, deputy ambassador of India to France and Consul General at Guangzhou in China.

Pandey has also served in various capacities at Indian Missions in Cairo, Damascus, Islamabad and Kabul.