Who is Dinesh Patnaik? India’s new High Commissioner to Canada

The Government of India on Thursday announced the appointment of senior diplomat Dinesh K Patnaik as the next High Commissioner of India to Canada.

A 1990-batch officer of the Indian Foreign Service (IFS), Patnaik is currently serving as India’s Ambassador to Spain. The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) confirmed his new posting, which comes at a sensitive time in bilateral relations between New Delhi and Ottawa.

Ties between the India and Canada hit a low point in September 2023 after then Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau accused India of involvement in the killing of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, a Canadian national designated by India as a Khalistani terrorist. New Delhi strongly rejected the allegation.


The diplomatic rift further deepened when Ottawa expelled several Indian diplomats, including then High Commissioner Sanjay Kumar Verma, prompting reciprocal action from India.

All about Dinesh K Patnaik

Patnaik holds a Bachelor’s degree from Delhi University (1988) and later completed a Master’s in Business Administration from IIM Calcutta. He also pursued a Master’s in International Relations from Vienna.

Over the course of his career spanning more than three decades, Patnaik has held key diplomatic assignments both in India and abroad. His overseas postings include missions in Geneva, Dhaka, Beijing, and Vienna, while in the MEA he has worked in divisions handling Africa, Western Europe, the UN, and external publicity.

According to his professional profile, Patnaik has also served as India’s Ambassador to Cambodia and Morocco, in addition to his current role in Spain.