Senior IFS officer Muktesh Kumar Pardeshi has been appointed India’s next Ambassador to Mexico. Pardeshi, a 1991-batch IFS officer, is currently posted as Joint Secretary (Passport division) in the Ministry of External Affairs.

Government has also appointed P Harish, a 1990-batch IFS officer, as India’s next Ambassador to the Socialist Republic of Vietnam. He is currently posted as Consul General in Houston, the US. Both of them are expected to take up their new assignments shortly.

 What is the difference between ‘High Commissioner’ and ‘Ambassador’? 

The functions these two individuals perform are the same; there is no difference. I understand that both are of the same rank as well. Britain’s diplomatic missions in various parts of the world are either called “High Commission” or “Embassy”.

The former term is used to refer to Britain’s diplomatic missions in Commonwealth countries.

For example, the diplomatic mission in Delhi is called the High Commission, and the senior diplomat in charge of it is the “High Commissioner”.

Since the United States and Russia were never a part of the Commonwealth, Britain’s diplomatic missions in these countries are called “Embassies”, and not “High Commissions”. The person in charge of one is called “Ambassador”.