Amb. H H S Viswanathan
Distinguished Fellow

Joined ORF
May 2010

Expertise
International Relations

Background
He was a member of the Indian Foreign Service for 34 years. He has a long and diverse experience in International relations and Diplomacy. His foreign assignments include Belgium, Zaire, Czechoslovakia, Germany, China, Italy, Cote d' Ivoire, USA and Nigeria. He was the Head of Mission (Ambassador/ High Commissioner) in Cote d'Ivoire and Nigeria with concurrent accreditation to Niger, Guinea (Conakry), Sierra Leone, Cameroon , Benin, Chad, Equatorial Guinea and Sao Tome and Principe. At the Headquarters in MEA, he has been Deputy Secretary (East Europe) and Joint Secretary (Administration).In USA, he was Consul General of India in San Francisco with a consular jurisdiction over 14 States in the mid- West and West coast of the US.

He has also experience in multilateral diplomacy. He represented India in the African Development Bank, International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) and Food and Agricultural Organisation(FAO). He was also Observer at the Economic Community of West African States(ECOWAS).

He has participated in several Conferences/Seminars/Workshops in UC, Berkley, UCLA, Stanford University, CSU, Riverside, Nigerian Institute of International Affairs and University of Sienna (Italy)

Apart from Indian languages like Tamil, Malayalam and Hindi he speaks French and Italian. His hobbies include Golf, music and reading. He is particularly fond of books on Science and Philosophy. He is also a Movie buff.

Presently
He is working as a Distinguished Fellow at ORF's Centre for International Relations

E-mail ID: hhsviswanathan@orfonline.org