Jitender Pal Singh, Joint Secretary in the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), was appointed as the Indian Ambassador to Israel on Friday. He will take office soon, the MEA said in a statement without revealing the date of his assuming the position.
Singh, a 2002-batch Indian Foreign Service (IFS) officer, is presently serving as the joint secretary in the crucial Pakistan-Afghanistan-Iran (PAI) division of the MEA.
As India’s point-person for Afghanistan, he played a key role in execution of India’s policy approach towards the Taliban set up in that country, news agency PTI reported.
Singh’s posting comes in the midst of India eyeing to strengthen ties with Israel.
Israel has emerged as a key supplier of military hardware for India. Given that India is Israel’s second-largest trading partner in Asia, recent years have witnessed an increase in the trade in high-tech products and electronic machinery.
Singh will replace Sanjeev Singla, who was the Ambassador of India to Israel from 2019-2024. Singla, on January 8, assumed his responsibilities as India’s Ambassador to France and the Principality of Monaco.
(With inputs from PTI)