Yogendra Kumar Editor & Author

Yogendra Kumar has had a long career as an Indian Foreign Service (IFS) officer. He joined the IFS in 1977 and began his diplomatic career in Moscow, subsequently serving in Indian diplomatic missions in London, Islamabad, and Brussels (covering EU, EC, Belgium, and Luxembourg). In between serving at headquarters, he headed the Indian Consulate General in Tashkent, covering the entire Soviet Central Asia. He later served as ambassador in Tajikistan (2000–2003) when he also covered Afghanistan until the opening of the resident mission there. He was High Commissioner in Namibia and retired in 2012 as ambassador in the Philippines with concurrent accreditation to Palau, Micronesia and the Marshall Islands. Amongst his numerous assignments at headquarters, he handled multilateral organisations/dialogues such as the G8-G5 Dialogue, ASEAN, IBSA, IORA, and many others. He was on the faculty of the National Defence College, New Delhi. Since retirement, he has been participating in national and international conferences; writing in newspapers, specialist journals, and contributing chapters to edited volumes; and speaking on foreign and security affairs to diverse audiences. He has authored a book titled Diplomatic Dimension of Maritime Challenges for India in the 21st Century (2015) and edited and contributed to Whither Indian Ocean Maritime Order? (2017).