New Delhi, Aug. 28 -- Senior diplomat Dinesh K Patnaik, a 1990-batch officer of the Indian Foreign Service (IFS), has been appointed as the next High Commissioner of India to Canada, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) announced on Thursday.

Patnaik is currently serving as India's Ambassador to Spain since November 2021 and is expected to take up his new assignment shortly, the MEA said in a statement.

His appointment comes as New Delhi and Ottawa seek to normalise diplomatic relations, nearly nine months after India withdrew its High Commissioner Sanjay Kumar Verma and several senior diplomats amid escalating bilateral tensions.

In June, MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal had confirmed that both countries were working toward reinstat...