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
On the occasion of the BJP government’s one-year anniversary, Neelam Deo, director, Gateway House, delivered a series of lectures across the U.S., analysing Modi’s foreign policy. His energetic style, she said, has created several milestones—including a revival of relations with the U.S. and Russia, and a new approach to China and to India’s neighbourhood—that can cumulatively transform India’s growth trajectory. This is an abridged version of her lecture:
As Prime Minister Narendra Modi's first year in office draws to a close, Neelam Deo, Director of Gateway House and former Ambassador, analyses the various facets of his foreign policy so far and outlines his foreign policy successes and failures.
Neelam Deo, Director, Gateway House, reviews the three country tour and what it means for India’s relations with China, Mongolia and South Korea, going forward
With the 2016 U.S. presidential primaries in less than a year, Republican candidates have begun to multiply. Former Senator Jeb Bush is leading the pack, followed by Governor Scott Walker and Senator Marco Rubio. It is early days yet, but in their focus on countering Democrat Hillary Clinton, discussions on issues like the growing rivalry with China and plurilateral trade agreements are, so far, missing
Hillary Clinton finally announced her second bid to be the democratic candidate for the November 2016 presidential election on April 12. Despite her landmark achievements, there are a number of controversial issues from her time as senator, the first lady and as Secretary of State, that will be raised in the coming months
As the UN, U.S. and EU sanctions against Iran begin to be lifted, synchronised with Iran fulfilling its obligations on the nuclear issue, there will be a much greater interaction between India and Iran which will certainly benefit both countries.
The April 2 Iran Nuclear Framework Agreement with the P5+1 countries lays a straight path for the lifting of international sanctions on Iran. India has remained a close partner of Iran and Neelam Deo, Director, Gateway House, details what India will gain economically and strategically from a re-integrated Iran.
Recently signed sub-regional agreements will help India's 'Act East' by furthering trade and connectivity linkages as well as build strategic relations with important powers in Asia. China's regional integration growth in the past decade should be the benchmark for India.
Indian foreign secretary S. Jaishankar’s visit to SAARC countries from March 1 is an opportunity to examine the political trajectories in the region. While democracy in some countries like Sri Lanka is on an upswing, in others, like Bangladesh, it is in decline. With China’s growing economic influence in South Asia, can Indian democracy be an effective counterpoint?
