New UK High Commissioner, who named daughter 'India', presents credentials to Prez Kovind

The United Kingdom's new High Commissioner to India, Sir Philip Barton, presented his credentials to President Ram Nath Kovind, in a virtual ceremony on Wednesday. 

On the occasion, Barton shared his sentimental ties to India, mentioning that his mother was born in Shimla and he was posted in Delhi as a diplomat in the 1990s. "I met my wife, Amanda, when we both lived and worked here and we named our daughter ‘India’ - not knowing I would return one day as High Commissioner," Barton said.

He added, "We often speak of the “living bridge” of people, ideas, and institutions that tie the UK and India together. I, too, am part of that bridge... I am delighted to be back (in India) and look forward to continuing to build on what PM Modi has called an ‘unbeatable combination’ - a forward-looking, modern partnership between the UK and India.”

The diplomat had landed in New Delhi on June 12 and immediately went into quarantine for 14 days as per protocol.

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Greatest honour and privilege

Upon President Kovind's acceptance of his credentials, the newly-appointed British High Commissioner said it "his is greatest honour and privilege" of his diplomatic career to be representing the UK in India and stressed on the "deep commitment" across the British government, industry and civil society to grow India-UK relationship even further.

"Coronavirus is without precedent in modern times, but it has also brought out the importance of the modern partnership between the UK and India: from our excellent collaboration in developing and manufacturing a vaccine for global distribution, to securing essential medical supplies for health workers, to our joint determination to “build back better” from this crisis. I see my job as ensuring that this crucial partnership continues to prosper," Philip Barton said.

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Credential presentation ceremony

Other than Barton, the President also accepted credentials from Heads of Mission from New Zealand and Uzbekistan. The Rashtrapati Bhavan, in a statement, said this was the second time that credentials presentation happened through video-conference in the wake of COVID-19 pandemic.

Heads of Mission, who presented their credentials, were:

1. David Pine, High Commissioner of New Zealand
2. Sir Philip Barton, High Commissioner of the United Kingdom
3.  Akhatov Dilshod Khamidovich, Ambassador of the Republic of Uzbekistan

Speaking on the occasion, President Kovind conveyed his warm wishes to the envoys on their appointment. He noted that India had deep-rooted ties with all the three countries and was privileged to share a common outlook on key global issues with them. The President noted that enhancing global cooperation was the need of the hour to effectively tackle the COVID-19 pandemic. In this context, he stated that India was at the forefront of ongoing international efforts to defeat the pandemic.

Expressing happiness at the vibrant state of relations with the three countries, President Kovind emphasized that as a member of the UN Security Council for the term 2021-22, India looked forward to working with the international community to strengthen global peace and prosperity, the statement said.

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