The Ministry of External Affairs has appointed Ms. Vani Sarraju Rao as the next Ambassador of India to the Republic of Italy. Ms. Vani Sarraju Rao, an Indian Foreign Service officer of the 1994 batch, is currently serving as a Additional Secretary in the Ministry of External Affairs.
Ms. Vani Sarraju Rao is slated to assume her new role as India’s Ambassador to Italy in the near future. Her appointment is expected to further strengthen the diplomatic ties between India and Italy.
Vani Rao was the first Telugu woman to be the Indian ambassador to any country when she was appointed as Indian Ambassador to Finland and Estonia in 2017. She did her MA in Political Science from University of Hyderabad from 1988-90.
In a career spanning over 27 years, Vani assumed several positions, including Under Secretary in the West Europe Division in the Ministry of External Affairs, Director of Foreign Relations to the US and Canada (Delhi), Deputy Ambassador in Indian embassy in Israel, Indian Ambassador to Finland and Estonia, Joint Secretary, Overseas Indian affairs, Ministry of External Affairs, New Delhi etc.