Senior Indian diplomat 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. He will succeed Sunjay Sudhir, a 1993-batch IFS officer, and is expected to take charge soon.

Mittal, a 1998-batch Indian Foreign Service officer, is currently serving as Additional Secretary in the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO). Known for his extensive diplomatic experience, he earlier served as India’s Ambassador to Qatar, where he played a pivotal role in holding the first official discussions with the Taliban after the U.S. troop withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021. At that time, he met Sher Mohammad Abbas Stanekzai, the Head of Taliban’s Political Office in Doha, to ensure the safety and return of Indian nationals stranded in Afghanistan.

Before his posting in Doha, Mittal handled the Pakistan-Afghanistan-Iran (PAI) desk as Joint Secretary at the MEA, bringing deep expertise in regional affairs.

His appointment comes at a time when India-UAE relations are witnessing unprecedented growth. Since Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s landmark 2015 visit—the first by an Indian PM in 34 years—ties between the two nations have significantly deepened.

Recently, Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal and UAE’s Minister of Foreign Trade Thani bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi reviewed progress under the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA). Both sides reaffirmed their goal of achieving $100 billion in non-oil, non-precious metals bilateral trade by 2030. They also discussed new areas of cooperation, including renewable energy, digital infrastructure, supply chain resilience, and healthcare.

Mittal’s appointment is expected to further accelerate this momentum, reinforcing India-UAE’s strong economic and strategic partnership amid shifting global trade dynamics.