Meet Namgya Khampa, the diplomat who represented India at Trump's Board of Peace meet

India took part as an observer in the inaugural meeting of US President Donald Trump’s Board of Peace on Gaza on Thursday (February 19). The country was represented by Namgya Choden Khampa, the Chargé d’Affaires at the Indian Embassy in Washington, DC.

Earlier, India did not attend the launch of the Board on January 22 in Davos, Switzerland, stating that it was still examining the proposal.

And while India attended the meet as an observer, 27 other nations, including Azerbaijan, Belarus, Egypt, Hungary, Indonesia, Israel, Jordan, Morocco, Pakistan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, the UAE, Uzbekistan, and Vietnam, participated as members of the Board.

But, who is Namgya Khampa?

• Namgya C Khampa was born on February 12, 1977, in Uttarakhand. She holds Master’s and MPhil degrees in international relations.

• She is an Indian Foreign Service (IFS) Officer of the 2000 batch.

• Khampa is currently serving as the Chargé d’Affaires (Cd’A) and Deputy Chief of Mission at the Embassy of India in Washington, DC, overseeing key diplomatic engagements between India and the United States.

• She also heads the mission in the absence of an ambassador.

• She has also served as India’s High Commissioner to Kenya, where she was responsible for strengthening bilateral ties and advancing India’s diplomatic and development partnerships in the region.

• In the past, Khampa has also been the Deputy Chief of Mission in Kathmandu, Nepal.

• The Indian High Commission in Kenya said Khampa had two stints at India’s mission in China, first from 2002 to 2006 and later from 2013 to 2016.

• She served at India’s Permanent Mission to the United Nations in New York from 2009 to 2013. While there, she was elected to the United Nations Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Questions (ACABQ) for the 2011–2013 term.

• Khampa has also served as India’s representative on the Executive Board of the United Nations Development Programme and the United Nations Population Fund during her tenure in New York.

• From 2016 to 2018, Khampa served on deputation to the Prime Minister’s Office.

• She headed the Development Partnership Division at India’s Ministry of External Affairs from 2018 to 2020, overseeing Indian grant assistance and development cooperation with neighbouring countries.

What is Trump’s Board of Peace?

The Board of Peace is a body created to oversee the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas in Gaza, support reconstruction efforts, and assist in governing the territory. The Board was rolled out by Trump at the World Economic Forum in Davos last month.

Officials from nearly 50 countries participated in the meeting at the US Institute of Peace in Washington. Of these, 27 countries, including Azerbaijan, Belarus, Egypt, and Hungary, among others, were part of the board while the rest participated as observers.

More from Explainers

'Grave error of judgement': EU parliamentary groups condemn commissioner’s attendance at Trump’s 'Board of Peace' Why has Trump imposed 10% tariffs after US SC ruling? What happens next?

With inputs from agencies