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Ambassador Taranjit Singh Sandhu set to retire
Ambassador Sandhu will retire at the end of January after his one-year extension to remain in Washington ends.
Taranjit Singh Sandhu / NASA/Bill Ingalls
India’s ambassador to the US, Taranjit Singh Sandhu, is nearing the end of his term in office in Washington DC. With a career in government spanning over 35 years, he is set to retire by the end of January.
Sandhu has served as the ambassador in DC since 2020. As an Ambassador-Designate on February 6, 2020, Sandhu presented his credentials to former President Donald Trump at the White House. A Master’s degree holder in foreign relations from the Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, Sandhu's diplomatic career began in 1988 when he worked as Third Secretary (political) in the Soviet Union (Russia).
He became the Second Secretary of the Indian Mission in the Soviet Union in 1990 till 1992. After the Soviet Union’s breakup, Sandhu was sent to open a new embassy in Ukraine where he served as head of political and administration wings in the Indian Embassy in Kyiv from 1992 to 1994.
His first posting in the US was in 1997 as the First Secretary (Political) at the Embassy of India, Washington, DC. In that capacity, he was responsible for liaison with the United States Congress from 1997 to 2000. He has also been at the Permanent Mission of India to United Nations, New York, from July 2005 to February 2009.
In 2011, Ambassador Sandhu became the Consul General of India in Frankfurt and held the position till July 2013. He has worked in the Indian Ministry of External Affairs in various capacities, including Joint Secretary (UN) from March 2009 to August 2011 and Joint Secretary (Administration) heading the Human Resource Division. He was the Officer on Special Duty (press relations) at Ministry of External Affairs from December 1995 to March 1997.
The Indian government granted Sandhu a one-year extension to his retirement last January, citing the significance of the relationship with the US, his contacts with important interlocutors, and his influence on Washington politics as reasons. In the last year of office Sandhu oversaw the historic visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to the White House and some key deals between the two countries such as signing of the initiative on critical and emerging technologies (iCET) and the Artemis Accords.
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