He served five years as Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s private secretary right after he assumed office in 2014. His peers say he has made a “big” contribution in shaping India’s diplomatic policies towards Israel, and maintained careful and sensitive approach on the Israel-Palestine crisis. Meet Sanjeev Kumar Singla, a 1997-batch IFS officer, who is currently holding India’s fort in Israel as ambassador, managing 18,000 Indian professionals, students and 85,000 Jews of Indian-origin.
Among his peers, Singla is known as an “expert on Israel” and other West Asian countries as he served in the country before 2014 too. Prior to his appointment as PM’s private secretary, Singla served in the Indian embassy in Israel between November 2013 and July 2014. He was appointed Indian ambassador to Israel in October, 2019.
Apart from being in Israel for the longest time, Singla has served in several capacities in Indian Missions in Paris (France), Dhaka (Bangladesh) and Geneva (Switzerland). He also served in crucial positions at the US desk, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), and was appointed as the director at foreign secretary’s office.
A senior IFS officer, who worked with Singla in the MEA, said he has contributed “significantly” in shaping India’s diplomatic and strategic ties with Israel.
From 1950 onwards, India’s foreign policy with Israel has evolved in three phases, where the first stage involved no political ties. Post 1992, India’s foreign policy towards Israel was formally upgraded and both countries entered into diplomatic ties. After PM Modi’s visit to Israel in 2017, both countries started having strategic partnership on several issues, primarily on innovation and knowledge, the senior IFS officer further said.
Singla leads a seven-member team of officers in the Indian embassy in Tel Aviv.
Singla’s Significant’ Contribution to India-Israel Ties
In the Israeli context, PM Modi’s statement post the Gaza attack on October 7 by Palestinian military group Hamas was carefully drafted. The PM mentioned the attack as a “terrorist attack” but did not name Hamas or Palestine or Gaza, instead he sided with Israel clearly.
“Post his visit in 2017, PM sensed that Israel is going to be a crucial partner for India. Israel has a history of helping India with weaponries and other related technologies during such high-profile wars. Additionally, the Israeli government’s defence strategy towards the terrorists’ groups was unambiguous,” said a retired IFS officer explaining Singla’s role.
“PM Modi sensed that the partnership (with Israel) will evolve into an important one. He wanted an officer with whom he can communicate and who can implement his ideas, contributing to the (India-Israel) diplomacy to a great extent. That is why he picked Singla, who was then serving as his private secretary and had a brief experience in the embassy in Israel too,” he added.
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