Ajay Bisaria

He served as Under Secretary in the Ministry of External Affairs on the East Europe desk (1991 – 92) when India was engaged in building new relationships with the post-Soviet countries.

He was posted as First Secretary in the Indian Embassy in Berlin (1995–1999), where he facilitated commercial relations at a time of rising economic engagement between a unifying Germany and a liberalizing India.

He also led a project management team to oversee the development and construction of the new building of the Embassy of Indian in Berlin in the historic Tiergarten area.

Following his service at the Prime Minister's Office, Bisaria was seconded to the World Bank in Washington D.C. as an Advisor to the executive director for South Asia (2004–2008), where he worked on development projects and aid issues, contributing to corporate governance and India's multilateral economic diplomacy.

In this role, he coordinated India's foreign policy and bilateral relations with the Eurasia region (including Russia, Ukraine and Central Asia).

In January 2015, Bisaria was appointed India's Ambassador to Poland, based in Warsaw, with concurrent accreditation to Lithuania, serving until November 2017.

He was in Pakistan at the time of a terrorist attack by the Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Muhammad in Pulwama, which culminated in the Balakot airstrike, the first instance of aerial combat between Indian and Pakistani air forces since the Bangladesh Liberation War in 1971.

Prior to these events, however, Bisaria helped India establish a relationship with the newly elected Tehreek-i-Insaf Government of Prime Minister Imran Khan.

Bisaria's tenure began during the COVID-19 pandemic and involved facilitating the repatriation of Indian nationals under the Vande Bharat scheme ‘air bubble’.

Ajay Bisaria meeting with the President of India, Ram Nath Kovind , at Rashtrapati Bhavan on 4 December 2017