The Government of India has appointed senior diplomat Vipul as the new Ambassador of India to Saudi Arabia. He is the first Hindu IFS officer to be appointed as the Ambassador of India to Saudi Arabia. Before him, Dr. Suhail Ejaz Khan was on this post. Dr. Suhail Ijaz Khan took charge as the Ambassador of India to Saudi Arabia on 16 January 2023.
Announcing his appointment, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said that Vipul will soon take up his new post in Saudi Arabia. At present he is the Ambassador of India to Qatar and has long experience of working in Gulf countries. Vipul is a 1998 batch Indian Foreign Service (IFS) officer. He has represented India in many countries in his career.
See the list of former ambassadors here…
JEDDAH
|
S.NO |
NAME |
Designation |
YEAR |
|
|
1 |
PROF. ABDUL MAJEED |
CON |
1948 |
1949 |
|
2 |
DR. MANZAR AHSAN |
CON |
1949 |
1951 |
|
3 |
MR. MUSTAFA KAMIL KIDWAI |
CON |
JULY 51 |
November 54 |
|
MR. MUSTAFA KAMIL KIDWAI |
CdA |
November 54 |
June 57 |
|
|
MR. MUSTAFA KAMIL KIDWAI |
amb |
1957 |
JAN 61 |
|
|
4 |
MR. MNMASOOD |
amb |
JULY 61 |
JULY 64 |
|
5 |
MR. MIDHAT KAMIL KIDWAI |
amb |
JAN 65 |
1968 |
|
6 |
MR. TTPABDULLAH |
amb |
Dec 68 |
August 73 |
|
7 |
MR. ZAHEER AHMAD |
amb |
Dec 73 |
SEPT 75 |
|
8 |
MR. MAQURESHI |
amb |
April 76 |
JAN 78 |
|
9 |
MR. AKHAFIZKA |
amb |
JUN 78 |
April 81 |
|
10 |
MR. TTP ABDULLAH |
amb |
May 81 |
feb 85 |
|
11 |
MR. MAHMOOD BIN MOHAMMED |
amb |
feb 85 |
September 85 |
RIYADH (From Oct 1985)
|
S.NO |
NAME |
YEAR |
||
|
MR. MAHMOOD BIN MOHAMMED |
amb |
OCT 85 |
MAR 87 |
|
|
12 |
MR. ISHRAT AZIZ |
amb |
April 87 |
JAN 94 |
|
13 |
MR. MOHD HAMID ANSARI |
amb |
JAN 95 |
Nov 99 |
|
14 |
MR. TALMIZ AHMAD |
amb |
JAN 00 |
July 03 |
|
15 |
MR. KAMALUDDIN AHMED |
amb |
July 03 |
September 04 |
|
16 |
MR. MOH FAROOK |
amb |
September 04 |
Dec 09 |
|
17 |
MR. TALMIZ AHMAD |
amb |
JAN 10 |
AUG 11 |
|
18 |
MR. HAMID ALI RAO |
amb |
Sep 11 |
APR 15 |
|
19 |
MR. Ahmed Javed |
amb |
FEB 16 |
MAR 19 |
|
20 |
DR. AUSAAF SAYEED |
amb |
APR 19 |
MAR 22 |
|
21 |
DR. SUHEL AJAZ KHAN |
amb |
JAN 23 |
|
Will benefit from Vipul’s diplomatic experience
Vipul’s appointment has come at a time when there is constant tension in West Asia and the role of Saudi Arabia has become more important than before. During his long diplomatic career, Vipul has worked in Indian missions in Cairo, the capital of Egypt, Colombo, the capital of Sri Lanka, Geneva, Switzerland and Dubai, United Arab Emirates. At these places, he handled many important areas like political relations, trade, development cooperation, international security, disarmament and media matters.
He has also played an important role in the Foreign Ministry. He was Joint Secretary in the Ministry of External Affairs from 2014 to 2017. During this period, he worked on many important matters related to India’s foreign policy. After this, from 2017 to 2020, he was the Consul General of India in Dubai. His experience in Dubai and the Gulf region is considered his biggest strength.
India-Saudi cooperation increased
Trade, investment, energy, defense and strategic cooperation between India and Saudi Arabia have increased rapidly in the last few years. A large number of Indians also live and work in Saudi Arabia. In such a situation, Vipul’s appointment is being considered very important. Experts believe that his experience will be beneficial in further strengthening the relations between India and Saudi Arabia.
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