Venkat Raman
Auckland, March 21, 2024
Career Diplomat Patrick John Rata, who is currently serving as the Acting High Commissioner in Colombo, will be the next High Commissioner of New Zealand to India.
He is expected to leave for New Delhi soon.
Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Winston Peters has just made the announcement.
In his role as the High Commissioner and Plenipotentiary based in New Delhi, Mr Rata will also be the Non-Resident High Commissioner to Bangladesh and Ambassador to Nepal.
David Pine, the current High Commissioner in New Delhi (since July 2020), will move to Columbo to take charge as the High Commissioner to Sri Lanka.
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A seasoned diplomat
Mr Rata brings to his role strong trade negotiation skills that will be vital as New Zealand has entered a new phase of an intense relationship with India, dubbed the fastest-growing US$ three trillion fifth largest economy, poised to become the world’s third-largest by 2030 accounting for GDP of US$ five trillion.
Mr Rata moves to New Delhi at a crucial time in the world’s largest democracy. General Elections are due to be held from April 19, 2024 to June 1, 2024, with more than 968 million eligible voters expected to choose 543 members to the Lok Sabha, the Lower House of Parliament.
Mr Peters has just returned from a highly successful trip to India, preceded in December by Trade Minister Todd McClay. New Zealand has expressed a strong interest in improving its political, trade, economic, social and cultural ties.
Mr Rata is expected to help achieve that objective.
Focus on Agriculture, Trade
He Rata has served as New Zealand’s Ambassador to the Republic of Korea, and Italy (with accreditation to nine other countries), and Permanent Representative to the Rome-based UN agencies Food and Agricultural Organisation, International Fund for Agricultural Development and World Food Programme.
His career has had a particular focus on multilateral issues, with earlier postings to the New Zealand Permanent Mission to the UN in New York, where he worked on Security Council issues and was elected as Vice Chair of the Third Committee, and London, where he covered Commonwealth issues.
Outside the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Mr Rata worked for ten years as a Senior Executive at the World Trade Organization, including as Chef de Cabinet in the Director-General’s office in 2002.
A postgraduate (Master of Arts) from the University of Auckland, Mr Rata is married to Karen Lee Rata, a lawyer at the World Intellectual Property Organisation based in Geneva, Switzerland. They have two children.
Other Appointments
Mr Peters also announced that Andrew Needs will be New Zealand’s next High Commissioner to Australia (succeeding Annette King retired in December 2023) and Mark Trainor as the Ambassador to Russia,
