New Delhi: Periasamy Kumaran, presently Secretary (East) in the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), has been appointed as India's next High Commissioner to the United Kingdom, the MEA announced on Thursday.

A 1992 batch Indian Foreign Service (IFS) officer, Kumaran, is expected to take up the assignment shortly.

He will be replacing Vikram Doraiswami who has been appointed as India's Ambassador to China and is expected to take up the assignment shortly.

Kumaran has been serving as Secretary (East) in MEA since 2025. After joining IFS in 1992, Kumaran's first assignment was as Third Secretary in the Embassy of India in Cairo from 1994-1997, followed by his posting as Second Secretary in the Embassy of India in Tripoli from 1997-2000 and then as First Secretary in the Embassy of India, Brussels from 2000-2003. Following this, he returned to India and served as Deputy Secretary [Europe West] in the MEA from 2003-2005.

Kumaran then served as the Regional Passport Officer in Bangalore from 2005-2007, followed by a posting to Pakistan, where he served as Counsellor in the High Commission of India in Islamabad from 2007-2009. He then served as Counsellor in the Embassy of India in Washington from 2009-2011 and as Deputy High Commissioner at the High Commission of India in Colombo from 2011-2014.

From 2014-2016, Kumaran served as Joint Secretary (Consular, Passport and Visa Division) in MEA, New Delhi. He then served as India's Ambassador to Qatar from 2016-2020. He served as India's High Commissioner to Singapore from 2020-2023.

In July 2023, he assumed charge as Additional Secretary (Economic Relations and Development Partnership Administration) and was later promoted to Special Secretary (Economic Relations) and Development Partnership Administration (DPA) in the MEA, New Delhi.

He assumed his current charge as Secretary (East), MEA on April 1, 2025. He speaks English, Tamil, Hindi and Arabic.