By Gyalsten K Dorji
Diplomacy: The newly appointed Indian ambassador to Bhutan, Gautam Bambawale, presented his credentials to His Majesty the King at Tashichhodzong, yesterday.
Mr Bambawale replaces ambassador VP Haran, who served in the country from January last year. Mr Bambawale is India’s 16th ambassador to Bhutan.
“It was an honour to be able to present credentials to His Majesty the King within 24-hours of my arrival in Bhutan,” said the ambassador in a statement following the presentation of credentials ceremony.
“My wife and I are delighted to be in Bhutan,” said Mr Bambawale. “We have received a very warm welcome here from the royal government and people of Bhutan,” he added. “This is indicative of the strong partnership that exists between our two countries.”
Mr Bambawale said that, during his tenure as an ambassador to Bhutan, his objective is to add content, substance, and provide further momentum to the “B4B” partnership.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi had described relations between the two countries as “B4B” or “Bharat for Bhutan and Bhutan for Bharat” during his recent visit here.
Mr Bambawale previously served as the external affairs joint secretary-in charge of the East Asia division, which includes China and Japan.
The new ambassador to Bhutan is described as a “China expert.” Mr Bambawale has served four terms in China. He served in Hong Kong between 1985-1988, and Beijing between 1988-1991 and 1998-2001. He also headed the new Indian consulate in the southern Chinese city of Guangzhou in 2007. He is fluent in Mandarin.
In between these stints, Mr Bambawale also served as undersecretary of the China desk in 1991. Mr Bambawale has been involved in boundary talks between India and China.
Mr Bambawale is also described as a US-India affairs specialist.
He served as the minister for political affairs and the head of the political wing at the Indian embassy in Washington DC, USA in 2004. He has also served as the deputy secretary for the Americas between 1992-94. Gautam Bambawale was the director of the Indian Cultural Centre in Berlin between 1994 and 1998.
He was also the deputy chief for the national security affairs division, defence and international policy in the prime minister’s office. Mr Bambawale is a native of Pune, and is an alumnus of the prestigious Gokhale Institute of Politics and Economics, Pune, where he received a master’s degree in economics.
He joined the Indian Foreign Service in 1984.
