Entrepreneur from Odisha appointed Honorary Consul of Maldives

Bhubaneswar: Entrepreneur Bobby Mohanty has been appointed as the Honorary Consul of the Republic of Maldives in Mumbai.

He is the first person from Odisha to be honoured with the prestigious post.

The President of India has approved the appointment of Bobby Mohanty as the Honorary Consul of Maldives based in Mumbai on December 3.

Mohanty’s tenure is valid till November 14, 2023.

The appointment of Mohanty is significant as the relationship between India and Maldives has grown positively in the last 2 years.

Source said that India aspires to extend its cooperation in many areas especially in infrastructure, health, hygiene, disaster management and human resources.

Speaking on the appointment, Mohanty said, “I shall leverage my appointment to usher in a new era of cooperation between India and the Maldives. India has appreciated the government of Maldives’ ‘India First’ foreign policy and reciprocated the same in full measure by its ‘Neighbourhood First’ policy in which the Maldives enjoys a very special and central place.”

“I shall leverage my influence to foster bilateral ties and investment in areas such as core infrastructure, travel & tourism, maritime/ marine, medical tourism, education, healthcare, defence, technology and emerging businesses. As the Maldives ‘reiterated their commitment to a free and open Indo-Pacific’ initiative undertaken by the US, this paves the way for the Maldives to emerge as an international hub for emerging businesses in the region. I shall also strive to be the bridge to enhance business and social ties between Delhi, Mumbai, Odisha and the Maldives,” he added.

Born in Odisha, Mohanty was the Joint Secretary of Students’ Union in Ravenshaw College. The alumnus of IIT (ISM) Dhanbad has been involved in philanthropy and social activities through Bobby Mohanty Foundation Trust since 2004. His company TechEngg Project Services & Equipments (India) Pvt. Ltd deals in consulting, trading and marketing in heavy engineering equipment, spares and services. He is also an investor in Start-ups and cutting-edge technologies in India, Indonesia and Singapore.

The multi-facetted personality Mohanty had started his career with the Steel Authority of India Limited and De Beers Group.