Nikesh Mehta appointed as British high commissioner to Singapore

NIKESH MEHTA OBE has been appointed as British high commissioner to Singapore, an official statement announced on Wednesday (27). He will assume charge in July.

He will succeed Kara Owen CMG who was transferred to another diplomatic service, the statement added.

Currently, Mehta is director for policy and requirements at National Security Community. He was deputy ambassador at the British Embassy in Seoul 2018 to 2022.

He joined the foreign, commonwealth and development office (FCDO) in 2002, and has worked in Iraq, Uganda and Malaysia.

The appointment to Uganda was special for him as his mother, an Ugandan-Asian, was forced to leave from the nation by Idi Amin's forces in the early 1970s.

He covered the humanitarian catastrophe that followed the Lord's Resistance Army's 20-year struggle with the Ugandan government.

Later, he was the political counsellor in Malaysia and was responsible for the UK response to the two Malaysia Airlines disasters in 2014 and 2015.

In the UK, he primarily focused on conflict and security issues.

The diplomat spent three years (2015-2018) as a deputy director at the government communications headquarters (GCHQ), where he worked on global cyber-security.

He also led campaigns to improve the recruitment and development of staff from minority backgrounds.

"Mehta has consistently advocated for diversity and inclusiveness throughout his career. He is a firm believer that the diplomatic service should properly reflect UK society, and that diversity is one of the country's greatest strengths," an official statement said.

He was awarded an OBE in the Queen’s Birthday honours list in 2014 for his contributions to British foreign policy and diversity.