Who's Dinesh Patnaik? Seasoned Diplomat Appointed As India's New Envoy To Canada
Dinesh Patnaik, a senior Indian Foreign Service officer from the 1990 batch, has been appointed India’s next High Commissioner to Canada.
India has named Dinesh Patnaik as its next high commissioner to Canada, marking a new beginning after strained India-Canada ties in the past few months. Canada has also announced that Christopher Cooter will be its new envoy to India, after both posts remained vacant for nearly 10 months amid strained diplomatic ties.
The appointments have been announced as both countries try to rebuild ties. The relations between India and Canada turned into their worst in decades over the killing of a Khalistani separatist in Canada in 2023.
“Shri Dinesh K Patnaik (IFS:1990), presently Ambassador to the Kingdom of Spain, has been appointed as the next High Commissioner of India to Canada,” the Ministry of External Affairs said in a statement on Thursday.
The latest announcements follow months after Weldon Epp, Canada’s Assistant Deputy Minister, Indo-Pacific, met with Indian officials as a follow-up to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s meeting with his Canadian counterpart Mark Carney in June. The duo had met during the G7 Summit in Kananaskis.
Who Is Dinesh Patnaik?
Dinesh Patnaik, a senior Indian Foreign Service officer from the 1990 batch, has been appointed India’s next High Commissioner to Canada. He is expected to take charge in Ottawa soon, according to a statement from the Ministry of External Affairs. Patnaik is currently serving as India’s Ambassador to Spain.
He brings over 30 years of diplomatic experience, with postings in India and abroad. From 2016 to 2018, he served as Deputy High Commissioner to the UK, where he handled issues related to the Khalistani groups. This experience is expected to benefit him in his new role in Canada.
Patnaik has earlier served in Indian missions in Geneva, Dhaka, Beijing, and Vienna. Within the external affairs ministry, he has worked in key divisions dealing with Africa, Western Europe, the United Nations and external publicity.
Patnaik holds an MBA degree from IIM Calcutta. He also has a Master’s in Advanced International Studies and a certificate from the Diplomatic Academy in Vienna. He is married to Poonam, an international educator. The couple has two daughters.
Fallout Between India And Canada
The deep divide in India-Canada relations started when former Canadian PM Justin Trudeau blamed the Indian government for supporting organised crime on Canadian soil. He alleged in September 2023 that Indian government agents were linked to the murder of Khalistani separatist Hardeep Singh Nijjar. India had dismissed the charge as “absurd”.
The subsequent developments led to serious diplomatic fallout between the two countries, following which India recalled its then High Commissioner Sanjay Kumar Verma in October 2024.
