Neelam Deo

Neelam Deo

Director, Gateway House

Neelam Deo has served as the Indian Ambassador to Denmark and Ivory Coast with concurrent accreditation to Niger, Guinea, and Sierra Leone. She has also served in the Indian embassies in Rome, Bangkok and Washington D.C., where she liaised with the U.S. Congress, the State Department, and the National Security Council on strategic issues. Her last assignment was as Consul General in New York from 2005 to 2008. During the course of her assignments in the Ministry of External Affairs, she held the position of Joint Secretary for the divisions dealing with Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Myanmar and the Maldives. At different times over the course of her career, she has dealt with Bhutan, South East Asia and the Pacific, as well as countries in West Asia and North Africa. She is an invited speaker on strategic issues and India-U.S. relations at numerous think tanks and universities, in India, Europe and the United States. Apart from her articles and commentaries written exclusively for Gateway House, Neelam occasionally writes for mainstream publications, and is a frequent commentator for television news channels. She has a Master’s degree from the Delhi School of Economics and serves on the Editorial Advisory Board of the Indian Foreign Affairs Journal. She is also a member of the board of Oxfam India and is a trustee of Breakthrough (a human rights organization). She is an independent director on the boards of Mahindra CIE Automotive Limited and Mahindra Defence Systems Limited.
Expertise

Africa, Foreign Policy, India's Bilateral Relations, USA

Last modified: June 16, 2017

Recent projects

BRICS: Fast forwarding
23 April 2014

BRICS: Fast forwarding

Google Hangout Panel Discussion on the views on India's elections from the BRICS countries and a foreign policy agenda for the next government's engagement with the BRICS.

India & Africa: A new direction
23 April 2014

India & Africa: A new direction

A Google Hangout Panel Discussion on the views on India's elections from Africa and a foreign policy agenda for the next government's engagement with Africa.

Deepening engagement with the Indo-Pacific
23 April 2014

Deepening engagement with the Indo-Pacific

A Google Hangout Panel Discussion on the views on India's elections from the Indo-Pacific and a foreign policy agenda for the next government to deepen engagement with the Indo-Pacific.

G8_Ireland Courtesy: GOV.UK/Flickr
28 March 2014 Gateway House

The G8 is G7 again

A slumped arms industry and the U.S. shale gas sector will gain from NATO’s threat of stricter sanctions and suspension of Russia from the G8. BRICS has protested, but unless we consolidate alternate international financial structures, even other big economies like India can eventually be the targets of sanctions
southasiafinal Courtesy: User:Deepak/Wikimedia Commons
27 March 2014 Gateway House

‘Ties with neighbours is priority’

Historically, foreign policy has rarely played a decisive role in the Indian elections although issues like the nuclear deal with the U.S. have led to domestic storms. In this interview Neelam Deo, Director, Gateway House, explains why foreign policy has only occasionally been a key factor in the elections
Ukraine & the Crimea
18 March 2014

Ukraine & the Crimea

After months of protests Ukrainian president Yanukovych was forced to flee and a new government was sworn in. Now pro-Russian groups in Crimea are fighting for supremacy and Russia has mobilised troops to secure its interests in Crimea. Neelam Deo, Director, Gateway House analyses the situation.

ukraine1 Courtesy: Spacie/WIkimedia Commons
14 March 2014 Gateway House

‘Sanctions on Russia could impact India’

Neelam Deo, Director, Gateway House, talks about the potential economic impact of the ongoing crisis in the Ukraine. In this interview, she also examines the aid packages offered to Ukraine by Russia and the West, and assesses how the situation will affect India’s trade relations
ukraine Courtesy: Google Maps
7 March 2014 Gateway House

‘Ukraine may split into two countries’

Neelam Deo, Director, Gateway House, talks about the ongoing crisis in Ukraine and its possible outcomes. In this interview, she also discusses the issues at stake for Russia and the West, the credibility of assertions made by both sides, the EU’s interests in the region, and how India should respond