New Delhi [India], February 2 (ANI): Nagma Mohamed Mallick, from the IFS batch of 1991 and currently serving as India’s Ambassador to Japan, has been concurrently accredited as the next Ambassador of India to the Republic of Marshall Islands, with residence in Tokyo. She is expected to assume the assignment shortly.
India was among the first countries to establish diplomatic relations with the Marshall Islands in April 1995. The two nations share warm bilateral relations encompassing a wide range of areas, including the blue economy, climate change, disaster preparedness, health, education, and renewable energy. While the Marshall Islands had criticized India’s nuclear tests in 1998, this was largely influenced by its own historical experience at Bikini Atoll, where the United States conducted 67 nuclear tests in the 1950s. The long-term effects still impact the local population, with widespread cancer cases and severely contaminated soil that is unsuitable for agriculture.
In April 2014, the Marshall Islands filed a lawsuit at the International Court of Justice against nine nuclear-armed countries, including India. However, this issue has not been raised at the bilateral level with India. India’s relations with the Marshall Islands are managed from Japan, with the Indian Ambassador to Japan concurrently accredited to the island nation. Ramona Levy Strauss was appointed Honorary Consul General of India in the Marshall Islands on May 11, 2021.
Over the years, there have been multiple high-level exchanges. Former Marshall Islands President Kesai Note visited India as part of an inter-parliamentary delegation. RMI’s Minister for Public Works Hiroshi Yamamura, along with Jemi Nashion, CEO of the Tobolar Copra Processing Authority, visited Kochi from February 3–5, 2015, for the Asia Pacific Coconut Community Session and Ministerial Meeting. Former RMI Ambassador Tom D. Kijiner, based in Tokyo, presented his credentials to President Pranab Mukherjee in New Delhi on March 18, 2015.
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