IPNEWS – Monrovia: The Government of the Republic of India is to shortly open its Embassy near Monrovia. For this reason, Prime Minister Narendra Damodardas Modi-led administration has written the Liberian Government, through its embassy near Abidjan, La Côte d’Ivoire, that with “immediate effect” it has asked Mr. Upjit Singh Sachdeva to “cease” to act as Honorary Consul General of India to Liberia.

In a February 5th letter posted to the website of the Indian Embassy and addressed to Liberia’s Foreign Minister Dee Maxwell Saah Kemaya, Snr, the Indian Embassy told Ambassador Kemaya: “The Embassy of India in Abidjan accredited to the Republic of Liberia and has the honour to inform the esteemed Ministry that the Government of India has decided to withdraw the Letter of Commission appointing Mr. Upjit Singh Sachdeva as the Honorary Consul General of India in Liberia and would cease to function as Honorary consul General of India with immediate effect.”

“The Embassy of India in Abidjan has further honour to express the Government of India’s sincere appreciation to the Government of Liberia for all the cooperation extended to Mr. Upjit Singh Sachdeva while serving as Honorary Consul General of Indian to Liberia,” the Embassy said.

Further in the communication to the Foreign Ministry, the Indian Embassy requested: “The esteemed Ministry is therefore, requested to kindly expedite necessary clearance for establishing the Embassy of India in Monrovia as well as Agreement of designated Ambassador of India to Liberia, which has been forwarded to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for necessary clearance.”

IPNEWS has been informed that the new Ambassador’s name has already been forwarded to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for the necessary due diligence.

India is probably the only South Asian nation that most Liberians travel to, to seek advanced medical treatments to complications that their nation’s health sector cannot manage. India is also the destination for many Liberian students seeking higher education in various disciplines.

But getting to that country, Liberians had been forced to travel to neighboring La Côte d’Ivoire to obtain their travel documents for that country.

Diplomatic observers think that this is an exceptionally good move from the Indian Government to open its Embassy near Monrovia, since Liberia has been a nation that welcomed with opened arms Indians for many generations. “They are some of the very wealthy businesspeople in this country. This will further strengthen bilateral relations between the two countries and their peoples,” one of them added.

One of such Indian generations is Dr. Raj Panjabi, who was picked by US President Joseph R. Biden to lead the U.S. President’s Malaria Initiative (PMI). Panjabi’s parents migrated to Liberia, where he was born and raised. After civil war broke out in Liberia in 1989, at age nine, Panjabi, and his family fled on a rescue cargo plane to Sierra Leone and eventually sought asylum in the United States.
Honorary Consul General

Mr. Sachdeva, who has now ceased to act as India Honorary Consul to Liberia, had played his role with efficiency, doing all to keep the strong ties between both nations “very cordial.”

Sachdeva, who is commonly known in Liberia as “Jeety”, has been his country’s Honorary Consul General for more than two decades, since being appointed in 1998.

Because of his efficiency, former President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf on July 26, 2011, conferred on Jeety Liberia’s Highest Award “Knight Grand Commander” during the country’s 164th Independence Day celebrations in Voinjama City, Lofa County.

The citation that was read before he was honored, stated that he was being honored because of his “outstanding contribution to the socio-economic development, recovery and reconstruction of Liberia after the civil war.” He became the first Indian to get such award from Liberia.

Sachdeva, who was India’s Honorary Consul General for more than 2 decades, was one of the best Consul Generals that did immensely to foster the ties between India and Liberia.

Jeety made India prouder when on Jan 10, 2016, he was appointed as Dean of the Consular Corps in Liberia, by the Government of the Republic of Liberia.

He is the CEO of Jeety Trading Corporation (JTC), a prominent dealer in building and other materials. He also has a number of other businesses, including real estate.

Liberians, including the media, medical and humanitarian communities, are truly going to miss Jeety in his diplomatic role. He did touch the lives of most people in these communities.