Amb Sujan R. Chinoy is the Director General of the Manohar Parrikar Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses (MP-IDSA), New Delhi since 2019. MP-IDSA is India’s largest autonomous think-tank devoted to defence, security and international relations issues. The DG is appointed by the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet headed by the Prime Minister.
A career diplomat from 1981-2018, Amb Chinoy was the Ambassador of India to Japan and Mexico and the Consul General of India in Shanghai and Sydney. A specialist on China, East Asia and politico-security issues, he headed the Indian side in the bilateral Expert Group of Diplomatic and Military Officials negotiating confidence-building measures (CBMs) with China on the boundary dispute from 1996-2000. At the National Security Council Secretariat (NSCS) from 2008-2012, he anchored external and internal security policies and institutional dialogues with counterparts around the world, including in the extended neighbourhood of the Indo-Pacific.
During his public service of over four decades, he has dealt with political, security, defence, technology as well as trade and economic issues. His diverse Foreign Service career also included postings at the UN in New York, Beijing, Hong Kong and Riyadh. He was the Chair of the Think20 engagement group for India’s G20 Presidency and a Member of the DRDO Review Committee of the Government of India.
He regularly contributes to newspapers and journals, besides lecturing globally on diverse subjects. He speaks fluent Mandarin and is conversant in French, Spanish, German, Japanese, Arabic and French- Creole, besides English, Hindi and Gujarati. He is the author of “World Upside Down: India Recalibrates Its Geopolitics” (published in July 2023 by Harper Collins) and “Global Tumult: India as a Pole Star”, (published in July 2024 by RUPA Publications).
