Pavan Kapoor, India’s Ambassador to the United Arab Emirates (UAE), has assumed charge of office. He replaces Navdeep Singh Puri, who has been heading the Indian mission in UAE since October 2016.

A 1990 cadre IFS officer, Kapoor was appointed by India’s Ministry of External Affairs on August 28 as the country’s new ambassador to the Gulf nation.

Kapoor took charge of new office on October 31, paying floral tributes to Mahatma Gandhi and Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel.

Embassy warmly welcomes our new Ambassador Pavan Kapoor. @Ambkapoor commenced his first day in office by offering floral tributes to #MahatmaGandhi.@indiandiplomacy @meaindia @cgidubai pic.twitter.com/GQH68uwXnP

— India in UAE (@IndembAbuDhabi) October 31, 2019

Observing 144th Birth Anniversary of #SardarVallabhbhaiPatel, Ambassador Pavan Kapoor @ambkapoor administered the #NationalUnityPledge to the Embassy officials and staff. #RashtriyaEktaDiwas pic.twitter.com/F3FCAxyoj1

— India in UAE (@IndembAbuDhabi) October 31, 2019

The Consulate General of India Dubai also congratulated the new Ambassador:

Consulate General of India Dubai welcomes Ambassador Pavan Kapoor on assuming charge as Ambassador of India to UAE today. We look forward to work under his guidance to further strengthen India-UAE bilateral relations. pic.twitter.com/8tjWwEk5rx

— India in Dubai (@cgidubai) October 31, 2019

Prior to this, he was India’s Ambassador to Israel for more than three years. He was India’s High Commissioner to Mozambique and the Kingdom of Swaziland from January 2014 to February 2016.

He’s also served in different capacities in the Indian Missions in Moscow, Kyiv, London and Geneva, and had a brief stint with the Commonwealth Secretariat in London as Political Adviser for Asia and Europe.

The seasoned diplomat has worked as the Joint Secretary in the Ministry of External Affairs from 2010 to 2013, first heading the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) Division and then the United Nations Political Division.

Kapoor has an MBA from the Indian Institute of Management in Ahmedabad, India. He also holds a Masters in International Political Economy from the London School of Economics, according to his profile on the official website of the Embassy of India in Israel.