High Commissioner's Profile

Pankaj Saran is a career diplomat who has served both in Indian Missions abroad as well as Headquarters. His overseas assignments have been to Moscow, Washington D.C., Cairo and India’s Permanent Mission to the United Nations in Geneva. He has earlier served in Bangladesh from 1989 to 1992 as First Secretary (Political).

At Headquarters, he has served in the Ministry of External Affairs in the East Europe Division, as Deputy Secretary in the Foreign Secretary’s Office and as Joint Secretary (North) heading the Division dealing with India’s relations with Nepal and Bhutan.

He has worked twice on deputation to the Prime Minister’s Office, first as Director from 1995 to 1999 dealing largely with economic, energy and science and technology issues, and most recently, as Joint Secretary in the Office of Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh from 2007 to 2012. In the latter capacity, he dealt with the external affairs, defense, national security, atomic energy and space sectors.

Pankaj Saran has done his Masters in Economics from the Delhi School of Economics, Delhi University after which he joined the Indian Foreign Service in 1982.

He is married with two sons. His interests include tennis, bridge and reading.