KATHMANDU: India on Friday appointed Manjeev Singh Puri as its next Ambassador to Nepal. In a two-point statement, the Ministry of External Affairs said, 'He is expected to take up the assignment shortly.' He is the incumbent Indian Ambassador to the European Union, Belgium and Luxembourg. Ranjit Rae had returned to New Delhi from Kathmandu after completing his term in February end. Following that, the MEA had proposed Puri to take up the responsibility and sent his name to Kathmandu for the agrément. Born in 1959, Puri had joined the Indian Foreign Service in 1982. Prior to Brussels, he was Ambassador and Deputy Permanent Representative of India to the United Nations in New York from 2009 to 2013. He was a senior member of India’s Security Council team during the years 2011 and 2012, when India served on the Security Council.