Unveiling Islamabad

Ruchi Ghanashyam joined the Indian Foreign Service (IFS) in 1982. During her career of thirty-eight years, she worked in various capacities at the Ministry of External Affairs, the Government of India, including as director (Pakistan) and secretary (West). Outside India, she served in the Indian embassies in Damascus, Kathmandu, Brussels and Islamabad, as well as the Permanent Mission of India to the United Nations, New York. She was India’s high commissioner to Ghana, South Africa and the UK, where she retired in 2020.

Post retirement, she has written newspaper columns and articles as well as chapters for books. She has also participated in seminars and panel discussions, speaking on India’s foreign policy to students in India and the UK, as well as at think tanks. She is a member of the board of patrons at the India Centre for Inclusive Growth and Sustainable Development, University of Southampton, and adjunct faculty at Manipal Centre for European Studies, Manipal Academy of Higher Education.

After learning Arabic as his compulsory foreign language, A R Ghanashyam has worked in the Ministry of External Affairs dealing with AFRICA Fund, Northern Division covering Nepal and Bhutan, United Nations dealing with climate change and related subjects, Gulf Division and the Consular, Passport and Visa Division and Prime Ministers’ Office. He has also worked in Indian diplomatic Missions in Damascus, Kathmandu, Brussels, Islamabad and New York. He was Ambassador to the Republic of Angola concurrently accredited to Sao Tome Principe and Equatorial Guinea. He was also High Commissioner to Nigeria concurrently accredited to Benin, Cameroon, Chad and the Economic Community of West African States in Abuja.

Latha Reddy is the Co-Chairman, Global Commission on Stability in Cyberspace, and former Deputy National Security Adviser of India, where she was responsible for cybersecurity and other critical internal and external security issues. She also served as a Commissioner on the Global Commission on Internet Governance. Ms. Reddy served in the Indian Foreign Service from 1975-2011. She was then appointed as India’s Deputy National Security Advisor in the Prime Minister’s Office from 2011-2013. She is involved with several organizations and think tanks, both globally and in India. She is currently, among other positions, a Distinguished Fellow of the Observer Research Foundation and also serves on the Adjunct Faculty of the Takshashila Institution.