Former Ambassador of India to Colombia, Venezuela and Cuba and Distinguished Visiting Fellow- AC Ambassador Deepak Bhojwani joined the Indian Foreign Service (IFS) in 1978. He retired in February 2012. During his career, he was accredited as Ambassador in seven Latin American countries, resident in Colombia, Venezuela and Cuba, concurrent in Ecuador, Costa Rica, Cuba and the Dominican Republic, and was Consul General in Sao Paulo. He served abroad in three Continents – Asia (Indonesia and Malaysia), Europe (Spain and Czech Republic) and Latin America. In the Ministry of External Affairs, he served in the Divisions dealing with Administration; West Asia and North Africa; US and Canada; and had a brief stint at the United Nations. Ambassador Bhojwani also served as Private Secretary to the Prime Minister of India, Mr P.V.Narasimha Rao for two years from 1994 to 1996, and as Special Assistant to the Minister of State for External Affairs and for Science and Technology, Mr K.R.Narayanan, from 1985 till 1988. He writes extensively on Latin America and its relations with India. He has written a book published in 2015 titled 'Latin America, the Caribbean and India: Promise and Challenge'. He is currently a Consultant for Latin America and the Caribbean through his firm LATINDIA (www.latindia.in) He served as Independent Director in Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd. and Transrail Lighting Ltd. between 2018 and 2021. Since January 2017 he has been Country Manager and Director, Magotteaux Industries Pvt. Ltd.