J S Deepak appointed Ambassador to WTO

NEW DELHI: Telecom secretary J.S. Deepak was appointed India’s next ambassador to the World Trade Organisation (WTO) from June this year.

A 1982 batch IAS officer from Uttar Pradesh, Deepak, who is at present attending the World Mobile Congress (MWC) at Barcelona, has been shifted with “immediate effect” from the telecom ministry and has been made officer on special duty in the commerce department," according to PTI report.

During his earlier stint in the commerce ministry, he was India’s chief negotiator at the WTO and for the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) agreement, the mega Free Trade Agreement being negotiated by 16 countries.

The World Trade Organization (WTO) is a global international organisation dealing with the rules of trade between nations. India has been pushing for a trade facilitation agreement (TFA) in services at WTO which has 164 member countries. The WTO’s trade facilitation pact in goods came into force on 22 February.