Overview

• The Ministry of External Affairs announced the appointment on September 2, with Mittal expected to assume the role shortly.
• Mittal succeeds Sunjay Sudhir and is currently serving in the Prime Minister's Office.
• A 1998-batch IFS officer, he previously led the Pakistan–Afghanistan–Iran desk and served as ambassador to Qatar from 2020 to 2022.
• In Doha, he held India's first formal contact with the Taliban in August 2021 and worked on sensitive consular issues, including the case of eight Indian Navy veterans freed in February 2024.
• The India–UAE partnership features key energy ties and CEPA-driven plans to expand non-oil trade toward a $100 billion target by 2030.