India's first envoy to Bolivia has a Gujarat connection, is a native of Okha
Ahmedabad: Rohitkumar Vadhwana, 44, made history when he was recently appointed as the first ambassador to the Plurinational State of Bolivia.
He heads India's first mission in the South American country known for its natural resources.
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At La Paz, the highest capital city in the world at nearly 12,000 feet in the Andes mountains, Vadhwana has a tall task at hand.
"Now, I am in La Paz, tasked with setting up an embassy from the ground up," explains the envoy with a Gujarat connection, the scale of the job evident in his voice. "First, we set up the office and recruit staff. It's a matter of laying the foundation of the Indian mission," says Vadhwana, an Indian Foreign Service (IFS) officer of the 2010 batch with an illustrious career.
His path has taken him from Embassy of India in Iran to Indian High Commissions in the UK and Kenya. He also had a stint as deputy permanent representative to the UNEP and UN-Habitat during his tenure in Nairobi. Speaking to TOI about his 'unconventional' journey from the coastal town of Okha to the highlands of La Paz, he said, "I did not know about the Union Public Service Commission exams till I graduated in 2003. In Porbandar, he earned his LLB degree from Saurashtra University and also pursued an MA through distance learning.
"It was advice from a well-wisher that put me on the path to becoming a civil servant. I enrolled at the Sardar Patel Institute of Public Administration (SPIPA) in 2004-05 and other organisations for preparations," he said.
In Ahmedabad, while he was preparing for his career in civil service, he also achieved a personal milestone – he met Femida Shaikh, the love of his life, and the couple eventually married. Vadhwana even took a year's break to address challenges of their inter-religious union.
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The couple is now in La Paz, making new friends in the Spanish-speaking country. Vadhwana's family, including his parents and sister, are still in Okha.
"I want to promote India's soft and hard power in the country," he says. "It is significant today as Bolivia celebrates its 200 years of independence this year, and India opening a diplomatic mission here is a symbolically high point in bilateral relations." The last fiscal year saw India exporting automobiles and pharmaceuticals to Bolivia and importing gold and fertilisers from Bolivia. It is trade of about $2.3 billion, which fell to less than half a billion dollars mainly due to the restriction of gold export from Bolivia, indicate official sources.
"As a mission, we are committed to increasing bilateral trade," he said. "India is keen explore collaborations in critical sectors such as infrastructure, mining, minerals, and energy."
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