Reshuffle at MEA: China desk head Shilpak Ambule to be next ambassador to Singapore, Deepak Mittal to join PMO

Shilpak Ambule, Joint Secretary handling East Asia Division including China in the Ministry of External Affairs, and External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar’s principal aide, will be the next India’s ambassador to Singapore.
Dr Ambule, a 2002 batch IFS officer, has been with Jaishankar since he was the Foreign Secretary. Ambule, who is fluent in the Chinese language, is expected to do well in Chinese-dominated Singapore. 

His predecessor P Kumaran will return to South Block as a Secretary after a successful stint in Singapore. 

Vipul, joint Secretary handling the Gulf Division, will be replacing Dr Deepak Mittal as Indian ambassador to Qatar with the latter returning to India to join the Prime Minister’s Office as Joint Secretary, a report in HT stated.   

Indian ambassador to Malaysia Mridul Kumar will go to Switzerland as the new ambassador. The tenure of the Indian envoy to Austria Jaideep Mazumdar will be extended, as per the report.  

Deepak Mittal, who is presently in Qatar, is expected to take over as joint secretary PMO in place of Gaurav Shresth, who is headed to Iran as Indian envoy, the report stated. 

On Saturday, India extended financial assistance worth around $4 billion to Sri Lanka, including lines of credit for purchases of food and fuel, last year when it was reeling under a severe economic crisis. 

New Delhi also provided guarantees to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to help the country secure a $2.9 billion bailout package. 

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