Abhay Thakur appointed as India’s Ambassador to Myanmar

Veteran diplomat Abhay Thakur, a key member of the team that guided talks during India’s G20 presidency last year, was on Tuesday named the new ambassador to Myanmar. Thakur, a 1992 batch officer of the Indian Foreign Service (IFS) and currently officer on special duty in the Ministry of External Affairs, is expected to take charge soon, an official announcement said. He will replace Vinay Kumar who was appointed as the new ambassador to Russia last week.

Thakur was India’s G20 Sherpa or Deputy Sherpa, has served as High Commissioner to Mauritius and Nigeria. He has also served in Indian missions in major world capitals such as Moscow, London and Tel Aviv. An engineer turned diplomat, he studied at the Indian Institute of Management-Mumbai. He will have the challenging task of dealing with Myanmar’s military rule at a time when the junta has suffered a humiliating defeat following an offensive by the Three Brotherhood Alliance Arakan Army, the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance and the Ta’aung National Liberation Army last October.

Armed resistance groups and other anti-junta forces have seized key trade and crossing points along Myanmar’s borders with India and China and seized several military posts and bases. India has expressed concern over the violence and instability in Myanmar following the 2021 coup by the junta and called for a complete end to the fighting and transition towards an inclusive and federal democracy. The Indian government has suspended free movement of people along the India-Myanmar border and completely sealed off the 1,643-km border after thousands of Myanmar nationals, including military personnel, entered Manipur and Mizoram to escape the fighting. Have decided to put up a fence.