Early overseas postings Following his induction into the Indian Foreign Service, Kumar served in several Indian diplomatic missions abroad. His early postings included assignments in
Tashkent (1994–1995) and
Bishkek (1995–1998). He later served at the Indian High Commission in
Ottawa from 1998 to 2001. He was posted to the Embassy of India in
Warsaw between 2003 and 2006, followed by a posting in
Tehran from 2006 to 2009. From 2010 to 2013, he served at the
Permanent Mission of India to the United Nations in
New York.
United Nations and multilateral roles During his tenure at the United Nations, Kumar served as India's Political Coordinator in the
United Nations Security Council during 2011–2012. He was also a member of the
Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Questions (ACABQ) in 2013.
Senior roles in Nepal He was posted to
Kathmandu from 2015 to 2017, where he served as
Deputy Chief of Mission at the Embassy of India.
Ministry of External Affairs, New Delhi At the headquarters of the
Ministry of External Affairs in New Delhi, Kumar has held several senior administrative and policy positions. He served as Deputy Secretary in charge of Eastern Europe and Russia (2001–2003), Director for Administrative matters (2009–2010), and Joint Secretary for the East and Southern Africa Division (2013–2015). He subsequently served as Joint Secretary for the Southern Division (2017–2018) and later as Additional Secretary (International Organizations and Summits) from 2020 to 2022, overseeing India's engagement with multilateral institutions and global summits.
Ambassadorial appointments Kumar was appointed as the Ambassador of India to
Afghanistan in 2018, serving until 2020. He later served as the Ambassador of India to
Myanmar from 2022 to 2024.
Ambassador of India to Russia In April 2024, Vinay Kumar assumed charge as the Ambassador of India to
Russia, representing India's interests in bilateral, regional and global engagements with the Russian Federation. ==Personal life==