Ambassador of India

Mrs. Deepa Gopalan Wadhwa joined the Indian Foreign Service in 1979. She has served twice in Beijing and speaks Mandarin (1983 - 1987 and 1992 - 1994). She has also worked on the Pakistan Desk in the Ministry of External Affairs in the late 80's. Mrs. Wadhwa has extensive experience with multilateral work and has covered issues like human rights, disarmament environmental and social issues in the UN. she has also worked for International Labour Organisation (ILO) as head of their International Programe for Elimination of Child Labour (IPEC) in New Delhi in 2001.

Mrs. Wadhwa has also done postings in Hongkong, Geneva, and the Hague. She served as the Head of UN division of the Ministry of External Affairs & thereafter was appointed the Ambassador of India to Sweden & Latvia.

Mrs. Deepa Gopalan Wadhwa is married to Mr. Anil Wadhwa, who is also from Indian Diplomatic Sevice and is currently the Ambassador of India to the Thailand. They have two sons.

Ambassador's Message:

I have formally taken charge as the Ambassador of India to the State of Qatar on April 7, 2009, consequent to the presentation of my credentials to H.H. the Emir, Sheikh Hamad Bin Khalifa Al Thani. I look forward to my stay in Qatar and to both expand and deepen the variety of links that bind our two countries.

For India, Qatar is neighbor connected by the winaters of the Arabian Sea which has been a source of civilizational contact over the centuries. Our special relationship with Qatar is based on deep reservoir of goodwill at the political level, a vast network of business contacts and a large Indian expatriate community. This relationship has been nurtured by the high level visits by leaders of both countries. The visit by Prime Minister, Dr. Manmohan Singh in November 2008 has provided a fresh impetus to India’s multi-faceted cooperation with Qatar. I hope to work towards operationalising the commitments undertaken during the visit.

I am aware that the Indian community has been a source of great strength in all endeavours towards strengthening our historic contacts with Qatar. I seek and look forward to the continued support of my compatriots who keep the flag of India high through their reputation as a hardworking, law-abiding and peaceful community. On my part, I assure you that the Embassy stands ready to assist you in every manner and to strive to improve the services you seek from us.

I take this opportunity to thank the Government and people of Qatar for their friendship and hospitality. I believe that the time has come to advance our relationship to a strategic partnership and commit to work towards this objective.

Deepa Gopalan Wadhwa