Ajay Sharma, an Indian-origin diplomat, will be the new British Ambassador to Qatar. Sharma, currently the charge d’affaires to Iran, will take up his new assignment in November 2015. He will succeed Nicholas Hopton, who will be transferred to another post. Sharma has earlier served as the Foreign & Commonwealth Office (FCO) Head of Iran department and non-resident chargé d’affaires to Iran.
Britain had reopened its embassy in Iran in August this year, four years after it was stormed and ransacked in November 2011 by activists angry over Britain imposing sanctions on Iran. Sharma has earlier served in different capacities in Turkey, Russia and France among other countries.
Embassy vs High Commission
- An Embassy is a building where diplomats work or live in whereas a High Commission is an embassy of one British Commonwealth country to another country.
- A high commissioner is a person with various high ranked and special executive positions held by a commission of appointment.
- The ambassador is the head of the embassy, and it is the official representation in the capital.
- High commissioner is the head of High Commission. High Commission is simply an embassy and it is a diplomatic representation among British Commonwealth countries.
For example: Indian embassy in USA. We don’t say Indian high commission in USA. We say Indian Ambassador to USA. Similarly We say Indian High Commission in London or Indian High Commission in Sri Lanka.
Test Your GK
Who is the present Foreign Secretary of India?
