Akhilesh Mishra is next High Commissioner to Maldives

NEW DELHI: Senior diplomat Akhilesh Mishra, currently Consul General of lndia in Toronto, has been appointed as country's next High Commissioner to Maldives, External Affairs Ministry announced today.

An officer of 1989 IFS-batch, Mishra will succeed Rajeev Shahare, who has been appointed as the Indian Ambassador to Denmark.

Before taking up posting at Toronto, Mishra served as Joint Secretary in the Northern Division of MEA dealing with India's relations with Nepal and Bhutan, and Joint Secretary in charge of Multilateral Economic Relations Division.

His previous assignments include Deputy Chief of Mission in Kabul and Deputy Consul General in San Francisco.

Mishra's appointment comes at a time when the two countries are trying to move forward after a spell of strain in bilateral ties.

The island nation has also witnessed political crisis in recent past leading to an emergency being imposed by Maldivian President Abdulla Yameen for nearly a week following an explosion on the speedboat which he was travelling in.