Jeddah, June 30: The central government is taking utmost care in appointing ambassadors in gulf countries. In the first phase the government has appointed Mr. Hamid Ali as Indian Ambassador to Riyadh. He will replace Mr. Talmiz Ahmad who is retiring in September. In the second phase the government appointed Indian Ambassador to Oman, while appointment of ambassador in Qatar is likely in the next month.
Mr. Hamed Ali belongs to 1981 batch of IFS and he has mostly served in United Nations. He is unexpectedly appointed as Indian Ambassador to Saudi Arabia. He served in Dhaka, Bangladesh for quite some time. He also served as a private secretary of foreign minister Dinesh Singh in 1995.
Muslims have a very low representation in Indian Foreign Service. According to 2009 data, out of 619 IFS officers only 10 are Muslims.
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