On August 2, H.E. Sibi George will take over as India’s Ambassador to Kuwait, succeeding Jeeva Sagar who retired from service on May 31. Jeeva Sagar, a native of Telangana, was in charge of the Mission since January 2018
The Indian Ministry of External Affairs had appointed Sibi George on June 1. Deputy chief of India’s mission in Kuwait is acting as charge d’affaires in the country until the new ambassador’s arrival.
Sibi George, an Indian Foreign Service officer of the 1993 batch, was Ambassador to Switzerland since November 2017, Ambassador of India to the Holy See since December 2017 and Ambassador of India to the Principality of Liechtenstein since March 2018.
George previously worked in India’s diplomatic missions in Egypt, Qatar, Iran, Saudi Arabia and Washington. He began his diplomatic career in Cairo where he served in the Mission as Political Officer. Subsequently he moved to Indian Embassy in Doha where he handled Consular, Community, Information and Media affairs as First Secretary.
Later he served as Political Counsellor in Indian High Commission in Islamabad and as Political Counsellor and Commercial Counsellor at Indian Embassy in Washington DC. He also served as Deputy Chief of Mission in Indian Missions in Tehran and Riyadh.
At the MEA headquarters in New Delhi, he served in East Asia Division and also as coordinator of India-Africa Forum Summit. He later headed Administration, Establishment and Welfare Divisions in the Ministry of External Affairs. In 2014, Ministry of External Affairs conferred on him the S.K. Singh Award for Excellence in Indian Foreign Service.
Hailing from Podimattam family of Pala in Kottayam district, Kerala , he is married to Joice John Pampoorethu, an artist by profession. They have two daughters and a son. A gold medallist both for his graduation and post-graduation, he also holds a diploma in Arabic Language. Not surprisingly, he has a good command of the Arabic language.
