MEA seeks prioritization of withdrawal by foreign embassies’ staffers

A cashier displays the new 2000 Indian rupee banknotes inside a bank in Jammu, November 15, 2016. | REUTERS
A cashier displays the new 2000 Indian rupee banknotes inside a bank in Jammu, November 15, 2016. | REUTERS

NEW DELHI: The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) on Thursday asked the Finance Ministry to direct banks to prioritise money withdrawal by staffers of Foreign Embassies after Dean of Diplomatic Corps met Foreign Secretary S Jaishankar.

The Dean of Diplomatic Corps and the Ambassador of the Dominican Republic Frank Hans Dannenberg Castellanos had approached the MEA seeking the relaxation of the weekly cap of Rs. 50,000 as it was affecting the operations of the missions. Jaishankar discussed the difficulties faced by the foreign missions with the Dean of Diplomatic Corps on Thursday and also ways to address them.

“The Finance Ministry, as a consequence, is being asked to issue directives to banks to allow Embassy officials with identity cards to withdraw money on a priority basis,” the MEA Spokesperson Vikas Swarup said here.

However, the MEA is still waiting to hear from the Inter-Ministerial Committee set up by the Finance Ministry to look into the problems faced by the Foreign Embassies including the weekly withdrawal ceiling.

The Dean of Diplomatic Corps had earlier written to the MEA’s Protocol Division and External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj. On December 2, Russian Ambassador Alexander Kadakin had shot off a letter to the MEA complaining about the inadequate funds. “How can such a big embassy in Delhi function without cash?” Kadakin had said in the letter. Russians officials indicated that they are thinking of counter-measures like summoning Indian Envoy in Moscow or putting a ceiling on cash withdrawals for Indian diplomats in their country.

Related Stories

No stories found.
The New Indian Express
www.newindianexpress.com