Telangana’s Srikar Reddy likely to be Indian Ambassador to Qatar

Senior diplomat Dr K Srikar Reddy, currently serving as the Consul General of India in San Francisco, is likely to be appointed India's next Ambassador to Qatar. The Telangana native previously played a key role in India's major trade agreements with the UAE and Mauritius.

Dubai: Senior diplomat Dr K Srikar Reddy is likely to be appointed as India’s new Ambassador to Qatar. Reddy, a 2001-batch Indian Foreign Service officer, is currently serving as the Consul General of India in San Francisco, USA.

A native of Yadadri Bhuvanagiri district in Telangana and an alumnus of Kakatiya Medical College in Warangal, Srikar Reddy has held a variety of postings during his career. He has served at Indian missions to the United Nations, WTO, Switzerland, Germany, Vietnam and the USA, besides serving in the Commerce Ministry. However, this will be his maiden posting in the Arabian Gulf region.

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Srikar Reddy was the principal architect of India’s flagship trade agreements with the UAE and Mauritius. He was India’s Chief Negotiator for the India-UAE Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) and the India-Mauritius Comprehensive Economic Cooperation and Partnership Agreement (CECPA).

He brought laurels to Hyderabad’s Regional Passport Office while serving there as the Regional Passport Officer (RPO). The Hyderabad Regional Passport Office was awarded the Passport Seva Puraskar for the first time in 2013 during his tenure.

If the appointment is formally announced, Srikar Reddy will become the second person from Telangana to serve as India’s Ambassador to Qatar. In the 1980s, Prof S Basheeruddin, former head of the Osmania University Department of Journalism, also served as India’s Ambassador to Qatar.

Qatar is a major supplier of natural gas to India and is home to approximately eight lakh Indians, a significant number of whom hail from Telangana.