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: December 21, 2017

Recent projects

NATO Courtesy: NATO/Flickr
21 July 2016 Gateway House

Brexit, NATO, EU: emerging dichotomies

In the aftermath of Brexit, the recently concluded NATO Summit highlighted the emerging asymmetry between NATO and the EU on their respective policy positions towards Russia. Has the expansion of NATO and the EU to absorb Eastern Europe, and the consequent large migration flows, been responsible for the visible cracks within the Europe?
1042327973 Courtesy: Sputnik News
6 July 2016 Gateway House

Terrorism in Bangladesh

The recent terror attacks in Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh, turned the spotlight on the country’s increasingly violent and volatile political situation. The interplay of deep political divisions, the rise of radicalised student politics, religious extremism, which the government has failed to rein in, and the spread of trans-national terror networks has created a toxic cocktail in Bangladesh with dangerous implications for India.

1023-modi-cameron-mea Courtesy: MEA / Flickr
30 June 2016 Gateway House

The dislocations of Brexit: can India gain?

The result of the Brexit referendum is nothing less than a body blow to Bretton Woods organisations, International Monetary Fund-North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO)-World Bank, that originated at the end of the Second World War. The possibility of an Asian century becomes more feasible, if India can be nimble enough to make the most of the opportunity which has presented itself in Europe.
t20lima Courtesy: Gateway House
19 May 2016 Gateway House

T20 in Lima: a Latin insight

A T20 workshop in Lima, Peru, provided the opportunity to for a deeper insight into the the Latin American economic situation. While the workshop focused on finding innovative solutions to sustain high growth in middle-income countries. There is a need for India and similar countries, to become sensitized to each others problems on development.
800px-thumbnail Courtesy: Wikipedia
12 May 2016 Gateway House

India: openly-allied with the U.S.

After nearly a decade of moving slowly towards the U.S. on critical matters including nuclear power, the recent bilateral agreement to share military facilities and have anti-submarine warfare talks, suggest that Prime Minister Narendra Modi will have India sail the oceans with the American eagle.

bratislava Courtesy:
21 April 2016 Gateway House

Discussions in a disorderly world

Discussions at the Global Security Forum 2016 at Bratislava, Slovakia were reflective of some of the most pressing contemporary global security concerns; differences between NATO and Russia, the rise of China, turmoil in Iraq and Syria etc.

Indian_Navy_flotilla_of_Western_Fleet_escort_INS_Vikramaditya_(R33)_and_INS_Viraat_(R22)_in_the_Arabian_Sea Courtesy: Wikipedia
7 April 2016 Gateway House

India’s future is sea-facing

India needs a more developed strategic focus on its eastern-western seaboards. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has taken the lead, investing considerable diplomatic capital and time in his visits to Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and island nations in the Arabian Sea. In the east, he is progressively engaging with ASEAN, Japan and Australia

Mr_Donald_Trump_New_Hampshire_Town_Hall_on_August_19th,_2015_at_Pinkerton_Academy,_Derry,_NH_by_Michael_Vadon_02 Courtesy: Wikipedia
31 March 2016 Gateway House

Dismantling the geopolitical Bretton Woods

Statements by Donald Trump, the business magnate turned serious contender for the Oval Office, assert that he wants “good” political and economic deals for the U.S. - even if it means dismantling alliances, i.e. the geopolitical equivalents of Bretton Woods that underwrote the U.S .domination in Europe, Asia and Middle East for more than six decades. A new era could dawn.
modi-620x376_0 Courtesy: PTI
25 February 2016 Gateway House

A budget for Modi’s economic diplomacy

Prime Minister Modi's energetic foreign policy and travel has focused on attracting foreign investments. But the task of translating commitments into investments on the ground rests with the Ministry of External Affairs. And the MEA needs greater resources to realise the benefits of Modi's deepening economic diplomacy abroad.