New Delhi: The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) on Thursday announced that Anurag Bhushan, an Indian Foreign Service (IFS) officer from the batch of 1995, has been appointed as the next Ambassador of India to Sweden. Bhushan is currently the Additional Secretary in the ministry and is expected to take up the assignment shortly.
Last October, the MEA had announced that Neena Malhotra, an IFS officer from 1992 batch who was posted as an Officer on Special Duty in the ministry, will serve as the next Ambassador of India to the Kingdom of Sweden. However, the ministry stated that she could not join due to family constraints.
Bhushan, an Additional Secretary in the Emigration Policy and Welfare (EP&W) division of the ministry, had co-chaired the India-Saudi Joint Committee Meeting on Labour Cooperation, last month.
India and Sweden have long-standing close relations based on common values; strong business, investment, and Research and Development (R&D); and similar approaches to meet global challenges of peace and security, and development.
Regular political engagement, intensifying business ties, cooperation on global challenges and multilateral issues define the strong India Sweden partnership. Innovation, technology, investment and R&D collaborations provide the bedrock of this modern relationship, the ministry states.
The bilateral partnership has witnessed a sharp upswing in the high-level engagement since 2014, with 11 visits/interactions at Head of State/Head of Government level during this period. There has been one PM-level interaction and around 25 ministerial interactions between 2023-25, the MEA details.
The Embassy of India supports the organisation of an annual India Sweden Innovation Day. It also supports other initiatives such as ‘Engaging India’ at Almedalen. Sweden hosts a Sweden India Nobel Memorial Week in India focusing on promoting business and academic linkages, among other initiatives.
The Indian Diaspora in Sweden is estimated to be over 88,400 that includes around 66,400 Indian nationals. Most of them are professionals, predominantly in the IT sector. There are a large number of Indian researchers and students in Sweden. There are an estimated 2,500 Indian students in Sweden.
So far, around 22,000 Swedish nationals have been issued OCI cards. There are a number of Indian Cultural Associations in Sweden based in Stockholm, Gothenburg, Uppsala, Lund, Malmo, Umea, Kiruna, Helsingborg, Vasteras among others. A wide range of Indian festivals are celebrated across Sweden.
(IANS)
