New Delhi, Dec 15 (IANS): Akhilesh Mishra, currently India's consul general in Toronto, was named as the new high commissioner to the Maldives on Tuesday.

"Akhilesh Mishra, Consul General of lndia, Toronto, has been appointed as the next high commissioner of India to the Republic of Maldives," an external affairs ministry statement said.

Mishra will replace Rajeev Shahare in Male.

Prior to his posting in Toronto in 2013, Mishra served as joint secretary in the external affairs ministry heading the northern division dealing with India's relations with Nepal and Bhutan, and joint secretary in charge of multilateral economic relations division.

Maldives has been in the news in recent times after an emergency was imposed by the government of the Indian Ocean archipelago nation for nearly a week at the beginning of last month following an explosion on a speedboat carrying President Abdulla Yameen and subsequent discovery of an arms haul.

In October, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj visited Maldives to attend the fifth meeting of the India-Maldives Joint Commission.

In November, Maldives Foreign Minister Dunya Maumoon met Sushma Swaraj in New Delhi.