Controversial IFS officer Devyani Khobragade to serve Kerala

A US court today dismissed visa fraud charges on Indian Diplomat Devyani Khobragade.

Indian Foreign Service (IFS) officer Devyani Khobragade, who was forced to return to India after her arrest and humiliating strip-search in United States for underpaying her housemaid, will now handle the issues of Malayali diaspora and promote the economic interests of Kerala abroad.
The 1999 batch IFS officer, who had served as deputy consul general in the Indian consulate in New York during 2012-13, has chosen to serve the southern Indian state after she was appointed as director (state governments) in the ministry of external affairs.
Khobragade, who is not able to travel abroad due to the arrest warrant pending against her in the US, was given the new posting under a new provision making it mandatory for every IFS official to choose a state and work with it. She met Chief Minister Oommen Chandy and senior officials of the non-resident Keralites Affairs (Norka) department following her posting and familiarised with the issues concerning the Non-resident Keralites (NRKs), especially in the Gulf countries, and the needs of the state.
The new division was created to promote the economic interests of the states abroad. Its main task is to help states to become more active when they enter into sister city agreements or development activity agreements with foreign cities and agencies.
Local M P Shashi Tharoor had taken an initiative to twin the state's capital city of Trivandrum with Barcelona in 2010 when he was minister of state for external affairs. However, the move did not take off due to lack of follow-up efforts.
The state's commercial capital of Cochin is now pursuing a twinning arrangement with the French city of Lorient for the purpose of promoting heritage conservation and tourism. The Cochin city corporation has already signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Lorient city authorities.
Khobragade said she will carry forward this and other projects for tie-up with foreign countries. However, she will not be able to visit many countries as the case pending against her in US has not been closed.
She can be prosecuted if she visits any country with which Washington has signed extradition cities or has diplomatic relations. The US currently has extradition treaties with 110 countries.
Khobragade was posted in the new division after she was put on "compulsory wait" since her return from the US in 2014. Her arrest on the complaint of her housemaid Sangeeta Richard over alleged visa violation had led to a diplomatic row between the US and India.
The government of India is trying to settle the case politically instead of contesting it legally in the US. She is unable to meet her children, who live in the US with her husband, as their passports have been confiscated. - news@khaleejtimes.com

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