New Delhi, April 20: Ravi Shankar, a 1995 batch Indian Foreign Service officer, has been appointed as India’s next ambassador to Greece. Currently, he serves as the Indian ambassador to Ukraine. The Ministry of External Affairs announced this development, stating that he will assume his new role shortly.
Ravi Shankar will succeed Rudrendra Tandon, who has been the ambassador in Greece since June 2023. Prior to his appointment in Ukraine in August 2024, Shankar held several significant positions.
From 2017 to 2020, he served as India’s High Commissioner to Uganda. During his tenure there, he was also appointed as ambassador to Burundi and High Commissioner to Rwanda.
Shankar’s experience includes serving at the Indian Embassy in Italy from 2013 to 2016, and in various capacities in Hanoi, Vietnam (2009-2012), Tunis, Tunisia (2000-2004), and Paris, France (1997-2000).
Additionally, he was the Additional Secretary (South) in the Ministry of External Affairs from 2022 to 2024, overseeing the division responsible for Southeast Asian countries. He also worked as Joint Secretary-cum-Social Secretary to the President of India from 2020 to 2022.
In 2020, he briefly headed the NER Division concerning multilateral economic relations. From 2006 to 2009, he served as the Chief of Staff to the Minister of State for External Affairs.
Formal diplomatic relations between India and Greece were established in May 1950. Greece has consistently supported India’s stance on the Kashmir issue and its permanent membership in the UN Security Council. In return, India has backed Greece on the Cyprus issue.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Greece in August 2023, during which both nations elevated their relationship to a strategic partnership. Following this, Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis visited India in February 2026.
Recently, India’s Defense Minister Rajnath Singh and Greece’s Defense Minister Nikolaos Dendias signed a Joint Declaration of Intent (JDI) for defense industrial cooperation on February 9, 2026.
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