A conversation with Ambassador Rakesh Sood about nuclear technology, non-proliferation, disarmament, export controls and the evolving global threat portfolio.

Biography: Rakesh Sood

Rakesh Sood joined the Indian Foreign Service in 1976, serving initially in Brussels, Dakar, Geneva, and Islamabad in different capacities, and as Deputy Chief of Mission in Washington, DC.

Ambassador Sood set up the Disarmament and International Security Affairs Division in the Foreign Ministry and led it for nine years. During this period, he was in charge of multilateral disarmament negotiations (CWC, CTBT, BWC Verification Protocol, CCW), bilateral dialogues with Pakistan, strategic dialogues with countries such as the US, UK, France and Israel (especially after the nuclear tests in 1998), non-proliferation-related export controls and dealt with India’s role in the ASEAN Regional Forum, as part of the ‘Look East’ policy. He has served as India’s first Ambassador and Permanent Representative to the Conference on Disarmament in Geneva and later as Ambassador to Afghanistan, Nepal and France.

After retiring in 2013, Ambassador Sood was appointed Special Envoy of the Prime Minister for Disarmament and Non-proliferation, a position he held until May 2014. Since leaving government, he has been writing and speaking on foreign policy, regional and global security related issues at home and abroad. He is currently Distinguished Fellow at the Council for Strategic and Defence Research, a Delhi based think-tank.

A selection of his writings and interviews may be seen at https://rakeshsood.in/

Recorded on 30 March 2025