Vikram Doraiswami likely to be next Indian envoy to Bangladesh

Senior career diplomat Vikram Doraiswami is likely to be India's new High Commissioner to Bangladesh, succeeding Riva Ganguly Das.

Doraiswami, a 1992 batch Indian Foreign Service officer who is at present Additional Secretary in-charge of International Organisations and Summits at the Ministry of External Affairs, heads to Dhaka, one of the closest allies of New Delhi.

As Joint Secretary, Doraiswami has handled Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Myanmar affairs at the MEA headquarters in the South Block in New Delhi.

A soft-spoken and articulate diplomat, Doraiswami is known for his thorough knowledge of South Asia and homework on the subjects he is dealing with, diplomatic sources said.

Riva Ganguly Das, the 1986 batch IFS officer, is likely to take over as Secretary (East) at the MEA when incumbent Vijai Thakur Singh retires in September.

With Bangladesh being one of the few South Asian countries with which India has had a steady upswing in ties spanning a wide range of sectors, particularly cross-border connectivity, Doraiswami faces the challenge of taking them forward much further at a time when China is expanding its footprints in South Asia.