An Indian government official has been appointed the new head of the country’s Qatar mission, India’s Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) has announced.

Currently the ministry’s joint secretary, Shri P. Kumaran is expected to arrive in Qatar “shortly.”

According to the Qatar Tribune, Kumaran has been a foreign service officer since 1992. He has previously served as a passport officer in Bangalore and held senior positions with the MEA.

He has seven years of experience in the Arab world, including a posting as third secretary in Cairo.

Replacing Arora

Kumaran will replace Sanjiv Arora, who has served as ambassador of India’s embassy here for four years.

Arora oversees the 630,000-strong Indian expat community, Qatar’s largest demographic group.

Last month, it came to light that the MEA had launched a rare probe into the ambassador over alleged financial mismanagement and a “lack of integrity.”

He has denied these claims.

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