Mr. Vishal V. Sharma

Ambasasdor & Permanent Representative of India to UNESCO

Mr. Vishal V. Sharma, Ambassador and Permanent Representative of the Republic of India to UNESCO, was the first Indian in 56 years to serve as the Chair of the Finance and Administration Commission of UNESCO Executive Board (2021-2023). He also served as the Chair of the Finance, Administration and General Questions, Programme Support and External Relations Commission (APX Commission) of the 42nd General Conference of UNESCO (2023). He holds a Bachelor's Degree in Physics, and a certificate in the Executive Program in Business Management from the Indian Institute of Management (Calcutta).

Ambassador Sharma is an ardent believer in the values of universal brotherhood and fraternity. He feels that if humanity is to progress, then the poorest of the poor must be uplifted by the rich with a Gandhian attitude of "Sewa" (service) and with the help of knowledge and technology. Having been brought up by a single mother, Ambassador Sharma is a strong supporter of Gender Equality and feels that the world would be a better place with women leaders. He values humanity's great traditions including India's Vedic and Buddhist civilization, along with the Incas, Mayans & Aztecs in the Americas, the Mesopotamian, Akkadian, Sumerian, Arabic traditions in the Middle East, and the Greco-Roman civilizations. He values spirituality above religion. In UNESCO's 212th Executive Board he urged UNESCO to consider spirituality and religion as distinct queries on the Futures of Education survey, and by doing so, he feels that UNESCO would do humankind a great favour.