Prof. Ravi Thapar

Professor Ravi Thapar is a versatile Lawyer-Diplomat with more than 36 years of professional experience. He has served as India’s envoy at Lebanon; New Zealand, Western Samoa & Niue and also at Panama, Costa Rica & Nicaragua. Earlier during his diplomatic career, he was assigned as Charge d’Affaires in Suriname and Consul General of India in Milan, Italy. His long diplomatic tenure, culminated with his elevation to the rank of Secretary to the Government of India. After retiring from the Foreign Service, Ambassador Thapar is currently enrolled as an Advocate with the Delhi High Court.

Prior to his taking up his position as Ambassador of India to Panama, Costa Rica & Nicaragua, Ambassador was assigned as Additional Secretary (Counter Terrorism), Ministry of External Affairs, New Delhi. In this capacity, he led India’s Counter Terrorism Dialogue with various countries – such as USA, Canada, Germany, France, UK, Italy, Japan, People’s Republic of China, Australia, Indonesia, Uzbekistan, Singapore, Mauritius and many others.

Earlier during his career, Ambassador Thapar served as Joint Secretary (Head of Department) for the Latin American & Caribbean region in the Ministry of External Affairs and also as Director (Multilateral Economic Relations). In these roles, he was a member of various senior Indian delegations constituted during incoming Foreign and outgoing Indian State Visits and also for various multilateral and bilateral meetings in other countries led by the Indian Minister of External Affairs and other Indian dignitaries.  

During his long diplomatic career, Ambassador Thapar has actively espoused closer economic & commercial ties between India and other countries. Besides interacting with top political representatives, he also addressed elite business gatherings, closely networked with venture capitalists, high net worth individuals, senior representatives of multinational and global business entities, media personnel and other senior stakeholders for pursuing technology and investment alliances between India and other countries.