J P Singh appointed India's new ambassador to Israel

New Delhi: Seasoned diplomat Jitender Pal Singh was on Friday appointed as India's new ambassador to Israel, a posting seen as important in view of the current situation in the Middle-east.

Singh, a 2002-batch Indian Foreign Service (IFS) diplomat, is presently serving as the joint secretary in the crucial Pakistan-Afghanistan-Iran (PAI) division of the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA).

"He is expected to take up the assignment shortly," the MEA said in a brief statement.

As India's pointperson for Afghanistan, he played an important role in execution of India's policy approach towards the Taliban set up in that country.

In November, Singh met the Taliban's acting defence minister Mullah Mohammad Yaqoob and discussed ways to expand the relations between the two sides.

The meeting is believed to have paved the way for Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri's talks with Taliban regime's acting foreign minister Amir Khan Muttaqi in Dubai over two weeks back.

Singh's posting to Israel comes amid an upswing in India's bilateral ties with that country.

India is Israel's second-largest trading partner in Asia.

Though the bilateral trade is dominated mainly by diamonds, petroleum products, and chemicals, recent years have witnessed an increase in trade in areas such as electronic machinery and high-tech products.

Israel has also emerged as a key supplier of military hardware to India.