Mr Tanmaya Lal is the Deputy Secretary-General (Programmes) at the Commonwealth Secretariat, where he works with the Secretary-General to provide strategic direction across the Secretariat’s core programme areas. His role includes leading delivery against the Commonwealth Strategic Plan and translating mandates from Heads of Government into practical outcomes for member states.

A career diplomat with nearly 35 years of experience, Mr Lal previously served as Secretary (West) in India’s Ministry of External Affairs. His diplomatic career includes senior postings as Ambassador to Sweden and Latvia, High Commissioner to Mauritius, and Ambassador and Deputy Permanent Representative to the United Nations in New York.

He has worked across key international policy areas including trade, investment, development partnerships, climate change, migration, sustainable development, financing for development, technology, digital policy and multilateral cooperation. He has also held governance roles linked to the India-UN Development Partnership Fund and the IBSA Fund.

At UKAIS 2026, Mr Lal’s contribution will bring a strong Commonwealth and multilateral perspective to discussions on trade corridors, infrastructure finance, development partnerships, digital transformation and the UK–Africa–India investment corridor. His experience is highly relevant to the Summit’s focus on turning policy alignment into practical investment, industrial growth and cross-border delivery.