Seasoned diplomat Vinay Mohan Kwatra has been appointed as India's next envoy to Nepal, the Ministry of External Affairs announced on Thursday. Kwatra, a 1988 batch Indian Foreign Service officer, replaces Manjeev Singh Puri who has retired from service.

Currently, Kwatra is posted as the Ambassador of India to Paris. He is expected to take up the assignment shortly, the MEA said. In his 30 years of service at IFS, he has served in the Permanent Mission of India in Geneva, China and diplomatic missions in South Africa and Uzbekistan.

From 2006 to 2010, he represented India at the SAARC Secretariat in Nepal as head of the Trade, Economy and Finance Bureau. From May 2010 till July 2013, he served as Minister (Commerce) in the Embassy of India, Washington. Kwatra also served as Joint Secretary in the office of the Prime Minister of India between October 2015 and August 2017. He has also served at the ministry headquarters here.