Pavan Kapoor.

Imran Mojib, Special Correspondent

Pavan Kapoor has been appointed India’s next Ambassador to the UAE, External Affairs Ministry of India announced on Wednesday. Kapoor will replace Navdeep Singh Suri, who will return to India after completion of his three-year tenure in September 2019.

Kapoor, who joined the Indian Foreign Service in 1990, is expected to assume duty in October.

In his diplomatic career, Kapoor has served in different capacities in the Indian Missions in Moscow, Kyiv, London and Geneva apart from serving in the Ministry of External Affairs and the Prime Minister’s Office in New Delhi.

He also served as an international civil servant with the Commonwealth Secretariat in London as Political Adviser for Asia and Europe.

From July 2010 to December 2013, Kapoor served as Joint Secretary in the Ministry of External Affairs of India, first heading the SAARC Division and then the United Nations Political Division.

From January 2014 to February 2016, he was India’s High Commissioner to Mozambique and the Kingdom of Swaziland. Since March 2016, he has been serving as the Indian Ambassador to Israel.

Kapoor has an MBA degree from the Indian Institute of Management in Ahmedabad, India, and a Masters in International Political Economy from the London School of Economics. He speaks Russian, and some French and Portuguese.

Suri welcomed the appointment.

In a message posted on Twitter on Wednesday, Suri said, “Absolutely delighted over the appointment of my dear friend and colleague Amb. Pavan Kapoor as India’s next ambassador to UAE. All the very best for taking this rapidly growing relationship to new heights. And yes, you will be busy!”

Suri’s stint in the UAE has been one of the great success stories of Indian Foreign Services. He played important role during the last two state visits of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi as well as His Highness Sheikh Mohamed Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, state visits to India.

During his three-year tenure, the Ambassador focused on new areas including defence, security, space and nuclear power.

The decision is reflected in the rapid growth of the already extremely close financial and economic ties between the UAE and India as well as their strong social and political links.

Bilateral trade has increased from $52 billion in 2017 to $60 billion in 2018. The two nations have set $100 billion trade target by 2020.