Dr. Ajay Kumar assumed the charge of Minister (Commerce) of the Embassy of India, Washington DC on 05 September 2023.

This is Dr. Kumar’s second stint in Washington DC. From January 2013 to June 2016, he worked as First Secretary/Counsellor looking after India-US trade and commercial relations. He also represented India on the Standing Committee of the International Cotton Advisory Committee in Washington DC.

Dr. Kumar joined the Indian Foreign Service in 2002. Prior to joining his current assignment, he was seconded to the Parliament of India for three years as Joint Secretary and Chief of Protocol overseeing Inter-Parliamentary cooperation.

Previously, Dr. Kumar served as Deputy Chief of Mission at the Embassy of India in Kathmandu, Nepal from August 2017 to July 2020. Prior to that he headed India’s post-earthquake reconstruction work in Nepal from July 2016 to August 2017. Concurrently, he also worked as Director (Economic, Trade and Finance) at the SAARC Secretariat in Kathmandu from December 2016 to August 2017. He also served in India’s Missions in Cairo, Egypt from 2004-2007 and in Khartoum, Sudan from 2007-2010.

At headquarters, Dr. Kumar served as Deputy Secretary dealing with Disarmament and International Security issues from 2010-2012. He represented India in meetings of the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) and the Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia (CICA) at working level.

Dr. Kumar has completed his Doctorate Degree in Agronomy from the Indian Agricultural Research Institute in New Delhi. He speaks Hindi, English, Urdu and Arabic.