New Delhi, Sep 2 (IANS) Deepak Mittal has been appointed as the next Ambassador of India to the United Arab Emirates (UAE), the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) announced on Tuesday.

A seasoned diplomat belonging to the 1998 batch of the Indian Foreign Service (IFS) who is currently serving as an Additional Secretary at the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO), he is expected to take up the assignment shortly.

Having also served as India’s Ambassador to Qatar, Mittal played a crucial role in holding first discussions with the Taliban regime after the United States withdrew its troops from Afghanistan in 2021.

As the Indian envoy to Doha, Mittal met Sher Mohammad Abbas Stanekzai, the Head of Taliban’s Political Office in Doha on August 31, 2021. The meeting, which had taken place at the Embassy of India in Doha on the request of the Taliban side, focused on the safety, security and early return of Indian nationals stranded in Afghanistan.

Before arriving in Qatar, Mittal served as Joint Secretary, Pakistan Afghanistan Iran (PAI) Desk, at the ministry.

He will succeed Sunjay Sudhir (IFS 1993) as the next Ambassador of India to the United Arab Emirates.

The traditionally strong bilateral relations enjoyed by India-UAE have gained a new momentum ever since Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to the country – the first by an Indian PM in 34 years – in 2015.

On Monday, both countries agreed to strengthen their Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) with a target of $100 billion target for non-oil bilateral trade amid changing dynamics in world trade triggered by the sharp hike in US tariffs announced by the US President Donald Trump.

The issue was discussed at a meeting held by Union Minister of Commerce and Industry Piyush Goyal, with Minister of Foreign Trade of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Thani bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi, last week on further deepening the partnership, according to an official statement issued on Monday.

The ministers reviewed the progress made under CEPA and reaffirmed the shared vision of expanding bilateral trade towards the target of $100 billion non-oil, non-precious metals trade by 2030. Discussions included collaboration in emerging sectors such as renewable energy, digital infrastructure, supply chain resilience, and healthcare.

Both ministers emphasised the importance of working closely in the current global scenario to strengthen the bilateral economic partnership. Goyal highlighted the resilience and inherent strengths of the Indian economy which have enabled it to surge ahead during challenging times. The Ministers agreed on the importance of working with diverse partners for mutual benefit.

–IANS

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