India appoints seasoned diplomat Vipul as its new ambassador to Qatar

Seasoned diplomat Vipul has been appointed India's new ambassador to Qatar, an influential country in the Gulf region.

Vipul, a 1998-batch Indian Foreign Service (IFS) officer, is presently serving as the joint secretary in the Gulf division at the headquarters of the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) in Delhi.

"He (Vipul) is expected to take up the assignment shortly," the MEA said in a brief statement.

In his current position, Vipul has been handling India's diplomatic engagement with the Gulf region.

India's overall ties with the region has witnessed significant upswing in the last few years.

Senior IFS official Deepak Mittal, who was serving as the Indian envoy to Doha, returned a few months ago and joined as a joint secretary in the Prime Minister's Office.

Separately, Shilpak N Ambule, an IFS officer from 2002 batch, has been appointed India's next high commissioner to Singapore.

Ambule is presently serving as the joint secretary in the East Asia division in the MEA.

The East Asia division handles India's ties with China, Republic of Korea, Japan and Mongolia.

The MEA said Ambule is expected to take up his new assignment shortly.