By Parveen Chopra, IANS,
New York : Ronen Sen, India’s ambassador to US, has hailed Neelam Deo, the outgoing consul general of India in New York, for her contribution in enhancing India’s profile in the US and for promoting closer ties between the two countries.
Deo, posted since October 2005 in New York, the most high profile of the four Indian consulates in the US, is retiring later this month.
Prabhu Dayal, currently the Indian ambassador to Morocco, will take over from Deo.
Praising Deo, Sen told IANS in an email: “The consul general has been a truly outstanding representative of India. She made remarkable contributions in enhancing India’s profile and in promoting closer cultural, educational, commercial and economic ties between India and the US.”
Sen called Deo a wonderful person, who won the admiration and affection of people from all walks of life. “Hers will be a difficult act to follow. My colleagues and I will miss her greatly. Our very best wishes will be with her and her family when she retires from the Foreign Service and leaves this country.”
Deo, 60, has been a career diplomat of the Indian Foreign Service (IFS), with over three decades in the Indian diplomatic corps. She has been India’s ambassador to Denmark and Ivory Coast, with concurrent accreditation to Sierra Leone, Niger & Guinea.
Before her posting in New York, she led the Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Myanmar Division in the Ministry of External Affairs, New Delhi. She has also worked in India’s diplomatic missions in Washington, Bangkok and Rome.
Deo is married to Pramod Deo, an officer of the Indian Administrative Service (IAS) who is currently the chairman of the Maharashtra Electricity Regulatory Commission in Mumbai.