Prashant Pise appointed as India's next Ambassador to Slovenia: MEA

New Delhi [India], March 21 (ANI): Indian diplomat Prashant Pise has been appointed as the next Ambassador of India to Slovenia, the Ministry of External Affairs said on Thursday.

An Indian Foreign Service (IFS) officer of batch 1995, Pise is presently India's envoy in Iraq.

"Shri L. Prashant Pise (IFS: 1995), presently Ambassador of India to the Republic of Iraq has been appointed as the next Ambassador of India to the Republic of Slovenia," the MEA said in an official press release. He is expected to take up the assignment shortly.

Diplomatic relations with Slovenia were concretized when the Ambassador of India in Vienna presented credentials on 03 February 1993 for concurrent accreditation to Slovenia. India opened its resident Mission in Ljubljana in February 2007.

Slovenia opened its resident mission in New Delhi on 01 August 2002 and upgraded it to Ambassador-level in September 2009. There have been nine sessions of the Foreign Office consultations (FOC). The Ninth Session of the India-Slovenia FOC was held on 06 January 2023 in Ljubljana.

Notably, Soumendu Bagchi has been appointed as India's next ambassador to Iraq, according to the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA).

"Shri Soumendu Bagchi (IFS: 1993), presently DDG, ICWA, has been appointed as the next Ambassador of India to the Republic of Iraq. He is expected to take up the assignment shortly," the MEA said in a release on Wednesday.

India and Iraq have historical and civilizational ties. Since the outbreak of war in Iraq in 2003, India has been supporting a free, democratic, pluralistic, federal and unified Iraq. Iraq has consistently been among the top suppliers of crude oil to India for the last several years.

Meanwhile, Abhilasha Joshi has been appointed as the next envoy of India to Chile.

"Ms. Abhilasha Joshi (IFS: 1995), presently Additional Secretary in the Ministry, has been appointed as the next Ambassador of India to the Republic of Chile," the MEA said in a release.

She is expected to take up the assignment shortly.

India-Chile relations are characterized by warmth, friendship and a commonality of views on a wide range of issues.

The first India-Chile Joint Commission Meeting was held virtually on October 16 2020, co-chaired by India's External Affairs Minister and Chile's Foreign Minister. The Eighth Round of India-Chile Foreign Office Consultations was held in New Delhi on March 31 2023. (ANI)