 Connor delighted to be in Chennai
 The new British Deputy High Commissioner in Southern India, Mike Connor, says, "I am delighted to be coming to Chennai." And with that opening line, he has settled down in the city.
No stranger to India or Chennai, Connor said, "I am delighted to come at a time when our bilateral relationship with India in general and south India in particular is flourishing. I have been to Chennai and the south on several occasions over the past five years and have been struck by the sheer vibrancy of the economic, cultural and political life of the region. I have been particularly impressed by the breadth of enquiries handled by our office in Chennai and the support they receive from local trade associations and chambers of commerce. We have an exciting programme of events and visits over the next several months and I am therefore looking forward to getting to grips with my new job and getting to know the people and culture even better."
Connor added, "The British Council in Chennai and its network of British libraries in south India have encouraged and advised numerous students from the region who choose the UK; one of my first official events will be to host a reception for this year's recipients of Chevening and Commonwealth scholarships from south India. Our visa application centres in Chennai, Bangalore, Hyderabad and Cochin provide a customer-friendly service across the south. Student visas issued in south India have gone up ten-fold over the past decade; 5,500 issued in 2004 alone. All applicants can now track their status via SMS on their mobile phones. Our consular services cater to a widely-spread British resident community and an ever-increasing number of British tourists."
Connor takes up his posting in Chennai following a five-year secondment from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) to the Department for Trade and Industry (DTI) in London, where he was head of the South Asia Unit and the India Team in UK Trade and Investment (UKTI). In his 34-year career in the FCO, he has served in a wide range of positions in London and overseas. These include Vienna, Moscow, Tehran, Bonn, Abu Dhabi and Prague.
Before joining the diplomatic service, he worked in the banking sector. He is married to Lynne and they have one daughter.
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