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Abu Dhabi: New Indian ambassador Navdeep Suri assumes office 

The tech savvy ambassador took to twitter to announce his arrival. 

New Indian Ambassador to the UAE Navdeep Singh Suri joined office in the Capital on Monday. 

The tech savvy ambassador took to twitter to announce his arrival. "Day one on the job in Abu Dhabi! Exciting time for India-UAE relations," said twitter account IndAmbUAE @navdeepsuri.

Suri assumes office after a successful stint as the Indian High Commissioner to Australia. He is replacing TP Seetharam, whose term come to an end on August 31. Seetharam turned 60 on September 1. 

For three months till Monday, it was Neeta Bhushan, Charge d’affairs at the Indian Embassy, who took care of the daily affairs. 

Suri was at the Indian Embassy on Monday, an official at the embassy said. 

"The new ambassador landed in Dubai on Sunday night and was in office on Monday. He will formally present his credentials to the UAE government. The details regarding date are not known for now," the embassy official said. 

The new envoy takes charge at a time when the UAE-India ties are reaching a new level. 

His Highness Shaikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, has accepted the Indian government invitation to be the chief guest at the Republic Day celebrations next year. What followed the announcement was a series of Indian ministerial visits. 

Suri is a capable hand with experience of managing a state visit. As the Indian ambassador to Egypt, Suri successfully handled the March 2013 visit of Egypt’s President Mohamed Morsi to India. 

He is also an avid user of social media. During his tenure as the joint secretary of Public Diplomacy divisions at the Ministry of External Affairs in New Delhi, his initiative led to an improved interaction between the ministry and the citizens through social media platforms. 

It would be interesting to see what will be the focus of the new ambassador. When Seetharam came to the UAE at the end of December 2013, he began with the process of improving the services towards the community. First thing he did was to visit the Abu Dhabi jail in Al Wathba and understand their issues. 

There are host of issues and events that need immediate attention of the new ambassador. 

Expatriates are facing issues with demonetisation of Rs500 and Rs1,000. The embassy had recently advised travellers to carry debit and credit cards with them to India. 

The New Year will see the Pravasi Bharatiya Diwas Convention being held from January 7 to 9 in Bengaluru. The forum is expected to come clear on the long-standing demand of NRI voting. 

Recently, Neeta Bhushan had called upon the Indian community leaders to shore up support for the Bengaluru convention and the online survey launched by the Election Commission for overseas Indians to get engaged in the electoral process. 

Suri, from the Indian state of Punjab, joined the Indian Foreign Service in 1983. He has vast experience of serving in diplomatic missions in Cairo, Damascus, Washington, Dar es Salaam and London and as India’s Consul General in Johannesburg. He has headed the West Africa and Public Diplomacy divisions at the Ministry of External Affairs. 

He has Master’s degree in Economics and knows Arabic and French. 

He has written on India’s Africa policy, on Public Diplomacy and on the IT outsourcing industry. His English translations of his grandfather Nanak Singh’s classic Punjabi novels have been published by Penguin as ’The Watchmaker’ and by Harper Collins as ’A Life Incomplete’. 

Suri, at 57, is at the fag-end of his career and got world-wise experience needed for his new job.