India's UK high commissioner presents credentials to the Queen

India's high commissioner to the UK, Navtej Sarna, made his posting official today by presenting his credentials to Queen Elizabeth II at Buckingham Palace.
According to diplomatic protocol, the new Indian High Commissioner to the UK must hand over his "Letters of Commission", issued by the Indian Head of State or President Pranab Mukherjee, to the UK Head of State or the British monarch.
"It was one of the most beautiful ceremonies that I have ever seen. It's been a great privilege and an honour today to be part of this ceremony, to be received so graciously at the Palace by Her Majesty, the Queen, and to have the opportunity to actually have a discussion with her about India and the UK relationship," Sarna said at a special "Vin d'honneur" reception.

The 59-year-old diplomat, who arrived here in January this year to take over as the 25th Indian high commissioner to the UK, said he looked forward to taking on the "full plate" of things that lie ahead.
"What is most important is the fact that we are able to do our work with such an open feeling, with such close cooperation and in such friendliness all round. And that makes all the difference," said Sarna, who was accompanied by his wife Dr Avina Sarna.
The reception, which was attended by deputy Indian high commissioner Dr Virander Paul and his wife Rachel Paul, prominent NRI and diaspora figures such as NRI industrialist Lord Swraj Paul and Cobra beer chief Lord Karan Bilimoria, took place after the official ceremony at the High Commissioner's residence in central London where he arrived in the customary horse-drawn carriage from Palace.

"Her Majesty, the Queen, has always taken a great interest in the relationship between the United Kingdom and India; has visited India herself on many occasions and has hosted many important visitors from your country, most recently the visit of your Prime Minister, Mr (Narendra) Modi, which was a reaffirmation of the depth and breadth of the relationship," said Alistair Harrison, who led today's events in his capacity as Her Majesty's Marshal of the Diplomatic Corps.
"We have a hugely rich people-to-people relationship, based on our shared history. The commercial relationship is flourishing," he said.
The Indian Foreign Service officer of the 1980 batch is among the longest-serving spokespersons of the ministry of External Affairs (2002 to 2008) as well as an author of many fiction and non-fiction books, with the most recent being 'Second Thoughts: On Books, Authors and the Writerly Life' released last year.