Ambassador Sushil Kumar Singhal

Ambassador Sushil Kumar Singhal is a former Indian diplomat, legal professional, strategic advisor and public policy expert with more than 35 years of experience spanning diplomacy, international relations, trade, investment, infrastructure, corporate governance and law. Over the course of his career, he has represented India across Africa, Europe, South Asia and the Indo-Pacific, working in complex political, economic and multilateral environments.

He served as High Commissioner of India to Papua New Guinea, with concurrent accreditation to the Solomon Islands, where he led India’s engagement in trade, infrastructure, investment facilitation and regional cooperation in the Pacific. Earlier, as Ambassador of India to Angola, concurrently accredited to Equatorial Guinea and São Tomé and Príncipe, he strengthened India’s political and economic engagement across Central Africa, with a focus on energy, infrastructure, development cooperation and strategic partnerships. During this tenure, he played a key role in organising the first-ever visit by a President of India to Equatorial Guinea and contributed to maritime security cooperation with São Tomé and Príncipe.

As Deputy High Commissioner of India in Kenya, with concurrent responsibilities for Somalia and Eritrea, he managed India’s political, economic and strategic engagement in the region. He also served as India’s Deputy Permanent Representative to UN-Habitat and UNEP.

One of the most demanding assignments of his diplomatic career came during a special mission to Kurdistan, Iraq, amid a major regional crisis. He was closely involved in the response to the crisis affecting Indian nurses and other nationals and led the Indian team in Erbil. Over approximately four months, the mission contributed to the evacuation of nearly 6,000 Indians from the conflict-affected region.

Ambassador Singhal also held important economic and commercial assignments in Bangladesh, Belgium and Tanzania. In Bangladesh, as Head of the Economic and Commercial Wing, he was associated with major initiatives including a US$1 billion Line of Credit, cross-border power connectivity for the supply of 500 MW of electricity, Border Haats, inland waterways connectivity to Tripura, access to Chattogram Port, the Palatana power project, NTPC-linked cooperation, and railway and bridge connectivity projects.

During his posting in Belgium, he worked to advance India