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The Ambassador
Ms. Vani Rao

Vani Rao is a career diplomat who served the Government of India since 1994. She presently holds rank of an Additional Secretary in the Ministry of External Affairs. From August 2020 to March 2024, she led the Americas Division in the Ministry of External Affairs which dealt with India’s relations with USA, Canada and the Quad framework.

Prior to that, she was Ambassador to Finland and Estonia from 2017 to 2020, and Joint Secretary, spearheading programmes and initiatives for engagement with the Indian Diaspora (2014 to 2017).

She served from 2011 to 2014 as Deputy Chief of Mission in the Embassy of India, Israel.

Her other diplomatic assignments were at the Indian Missions in Mexico and Sweden. She also served as Under Secretary in Europe West Division and Director (Americas) in the Ministry of External Affairs.

She has an M.A. in Political Science from the University of Hyderabad, India, and an M.S. in Environmental Studies from the San Jose State University in California, USA. She speaks English, Telugu, Hindi and Spanish.

She is married and has one daughter. Her spouse is a technology advisor in emerging technologies to both startups and established companies.

She assumed charge as India’s Ambassador to Italy and San Marino on 3rd April 2024.


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