Balasubramaniam recognized as India's Permanent Representative to the Economic Community of West African States
• An Indian Foreign Service officer of 1998 batch, Balasubramaniam is currently the High Commissioner of India to the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
New Delhi: The Ministry of External Affairs said in a press release on Wednesday that Mr. Balasubramaniam has been recognized as the next Permanent Representative of India to the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).
An Indian Foreign Service officer of 1998 batch, he is currently the High Commissioner of India to the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
Prior to his service in Nigeria, Balasubramaniam served in India's missions in Moscow, Washington DC, Bangkok and Dushanbe. He also worked with multilateral bodies like UNESCAP as Deputy Chief Representative of India. He has also worked as JS (Europe West) and JS (Administration).
India has a long standing relationship with ECOWAS and the body was granted observer status in 2004. New Delhi has actively built close ties with several African states and multilateral bodies. Part of India's partnership with ECOWAS is economic. In 2006, India extended a Line of Credit (LoC) worth $250 million to the group. Other areas of economic cooperation in ECOWAS countries include energy, telecommunications and transportation. In this endeavour, the Export and Import Bank of India (EXIM) has played a key role in providing finance.
India has also looked to expand trade ties between itself and West Africa. Several editions of the India-Africa Forum Summit as well as efforts by industry bodies such as the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) have played a major role in expanding these business ties.
ECOWAS has also supported India's bid for a permanent seat in the UN Security Council.
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