Dr Suhel Ajaz Khan has taken charge as India’s new ambassador to Saudi Arabia.
Dr Khan, who is from the 1997 batch of Indian Foreign Service (IFS) and has a medical degree, took over the office on Monday. He previously held the position of Indian Ambassador to Lebanon.
Dr Khan formally presented his credentials to the Saudi foreign affairs ministry, where he was received by the Chief of Protocol at the ministry. He then unfurled the national flag in the embassy. On behalf of Prince Faisal bin Farhan bin Abdullah, Minister of Foreign Affairs, the Acting Deputy Minister for Protocol Affairs, Abdulmajid Al-Smari, receives Dr Khan’s credentials.
Indian diplomat to Saudi Arabia
The post was vacant from March last year, when Dr Ausaf Saeed was promoted as secretary of overseas Indian affairs in the Ministry of External Affairs.
With trade and diplomatic ties deepening between the two countries, Dr Khan, with two previous stints in Saudi Arabia, is considered a very important appointment.
Saudi Arabia is India’s fourth largest trade partner (after USA, China and the UAE) and a major source of energy as India imports around 18 percent of its crude oil requirement and nearly 22 percent of its LPG requirement from the kingdom. In FY 2021-22, bilateral trade was valued at $42.8 billion.
Dr Khan is considered a specialist in the MENA region. His first foreign assignment was to the Embassy of India, Cairo. During that stint in 1999-2001, he also obtained an advanced diploma in the Arabic language from the American University, Cairo.
He later held a position in Damascus, handling administration, press and political affairs between 2002-2005, followed by his first stint in Saudi Arabia as the Consul at the Consulate General of India, Jeddah. Dr Khan was handling a number of issues including Haj matters and arrangements for Indian pilgrims.
Dr Khan’s second assignment in the kingdom was between September 2017 and June 2019, when he worked at the Indian Embassy in Riyadh as Deputy Chief of Mission.
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