V. P. Haran retired from Indian Foreign Service after 34 years of service, in 2014. After postings in Moscow, Kabul, Colombo and Brussels, he was Deputy Permanent Representative to WTO, Geneva (2000-2003) and later Deputy Chief of Mission, Indian Embassy Kathmandu (2003-2006). He was appointed Ambassador to Syria in January 2009 and continued there until December 2012. During his tenure unrest broke out in Syria and the security situation deteriorated rapidly. He was appointed as Ambassador to Bhutan in January 2013 and retired from service in July 2014. After retirement, he has been contributing articles to publications of various think tanks and delivering lectures on foreign policy, relations with neighbours and Syria.