COLOMBO: India's new High Commissioner to Sri Lanka Santosh Jha has assumed charge and presented his credentials to President Ranil Wickremesinghe here on Friday.

Jha replaces Gopal Baglay, who has been appointed as the next High Commissioner of India to Australia.

Jha, a senior diplomat, was India’s Ambassador to the European Union, Belgium & Luxembourg before taking up his assignment in Colombo.

He has earlier served as Ambassador of India to Uzbekistan from 2019-2020 and as the Deputy Chief of Mission at the Indian Embassy in Washington DC from 2017-2019.

He has held key positions in the Ministry of External Affairs in New Delhi, including as head of the Division for Human Resources and Management Affairs, the Division for Relations with Western Europe and the European Union, and the Policy Planning Division.

He also served in Colombo from 2007-2010 as a Counsellor at the High Commission, handling work related to commercial and economic matters.

“During this period, in particular, he was pivotal in building the architecture of India-Sri Lanka development cooperation," a release said.