Ready for next mission after serving UAE NRIs

Serving the nearly three million Indian diaspora in the UAE is a unique experience, an outgoing Indian diplomat has said.
Dinesh Kumar, the First Secretary for Community Affairs at the Indian Embassy in Abu Dhabi, is leaving the UAE this week after serving for the last three years. An IAS (Indian Administrative Officer) of the 2004 batch, Kumar was also in charge of the economic and commerce wing.
"Today is my last day. I am leaving the country with a wealth of experience in dealing with people's problems. As the head of community affairs, it was tremendously satisfying to help overseas Indians in distress and solve their grievances, " Kumar told Khaleej Times.
"Working in a foreign mission in a country, that has one of the highest numbers of expat population is a unique experience, different from my previous assignments," said Kumar. He previously served in the state of Nagaland in the northeast India between 2005 to 2012, and was the deputy commissioner and district magistrate from 2008-2011 and also the commissioner of commercial taxes. In the central ministry, he served as the Private Secretary for Cabinet Minister and later as deputy secretary in the ministry of shipping.
The officer will return to India for his next assignment.
Kumar joined the embassy in August 2015 - at a time when the ties between India and the UAE was soaring with high-level visits and a flurry of bilateral activities to strengthen the relationship.
"The Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi, visited the UAE twice, followed by numerous ministerial delegations, bilateral discussions and signing of Memorandums of Understanding. Both countries have signed crucial strategic agreements in manpower, trade and commerce, energy and investment and skill development, among other sectors. Diplomatically, it was one of the busiest and most successful times to facilitate such bilateral interactions," said Kumar.
According to Dinesh, the game-changer in the community welfare initiatives was embassy's embrace of social media under the ambassador's initiative.
"Our reachout to the community was more effective thanks to the social media platforms. We regularly use the embassy's Facebook and Twitter pages to publicise our initiatives and also make announcements. Some events were even live-streamed on our website."
Kumar, who is married to Anita with two children, said he also takes back with him the best memories of interacting with various Indian expat organisations, members of the diaspora and the business community in Abu Dhabi.
"I was always amazed by the active interest that various social organisations and business leaders take in the welfare of the community. For the embassy, they were always the best bet to promote social interactions. I will definitely miss the warmth and friendship enjoyed in Abu Dhabi," said Kumar.
anjana@khaleejtimes.com

• Abu Dhabi