Manjeev Singh Puri proposed as Indian envoy to Nepal

KATHMANDU: India has proposed to send Manjeev Singh Puri as its next ambassador to Nepal after the term of Ranjit Rae in Kathmandu mission expired on Tuesday.

He is the incumbent Indian Ambassador to the European Union, Belgium and Luxembourg.

An official at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Kathmandu confirmed that the name has been sent to MoFA on Tuesday itself and the process for sending the agrément for his appointment would begin very soon.

Outgoing Indian Ambassador Rae had informed New Delhi's decision to Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal during the farewell call yesterday, according to the source.

Chargé d'affaires at the Kathmandu-based Indian Embassy, Vinay Kumar, however, refused to make any comment over the issue.

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.