JP Singh, a 2002 batch IFS officer, has been appointed as the next Indian ambassador to Israel. He is expected to take up his new assignment soon, the MEA said in a statement.
Singh is currently heading to the Pakistan, Afghanistan and Iran (PAI) department as joint secretary. He has served as Deputy Director General of the Mission in Islamabad in the past and is considered an expert on issues related to Pakistan and Afghanistan.
Singh also works in Kabul. As joint chief, he played a leading role in India’s outreach to the Taliban after armed militias took control of Afghanistan again in 2021 and made several visits to Kabul in the past few years. These efforts finally led to Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri’s recent meeting with the Taliban’s acting foreign minister in Dubai.
Singh also served as India’s consul general in Istanbul. He will lead Israel’s Indian mission amid a violent surge in tensions in West Asia following the war in Gaza. In a balancing act, India continues to strongly defend Israel’s right to protect itself from acts of terrorism while condemning the deaths of innocent civilians.
