Navdeep Suri, India’s envoy to the UAE, retires this week from government service and a final posting in which he played a key role in drawing the two nations closer together.
The 60-year-old diplomat’s stint as India’s ambassador in Abu Dhabi was marked by frequent high-level visits between leaders and fresh ties in everything from port operations to defence and energy to space co-operation.
He returns home to India on Tuesday after 36 years in the civil service. That career took him to missions in Egypt, Syria, the US, UK, Tanzania and South Africa.
Mr Suri rates his three-year UAE stint as one of the most memorable.
It has been a privilege to be here at a time when a transformation was taking place in the relationship between these two nations
“It has been a privilege to be here at a time when a transformation was taking place in the relationship between these two nations," he said.
"To not only have a ringside view of history being made but also have a little role in shaping that history.
“There is a recognition on both sides that this is one of the most important relations for each country. It manifests in the attention it now receives from the highest level of government in both countries.”
President Sheikh Khalifa conferred the Order of Zayed II first class on Mr Suri last month in recognition of his contribution to relations between the UAE and India.
"I was deeply moved and gratified by the decision of Sheikh Khalifa to confer on me the award," he said.
“I recognise and appreciate this award is rarely given to a diplomat of a foreign country."
The action-packed final month of Mr Suri’s tenure reflects the brisk pace of dialogue.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited the UAE in September for the third time in four years and received the Order of Zayed, the nation's highest civilian award from Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed, Crown Prince and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, for forging close ties between the two countries.
Sheikh Mohamed was the chief guest at India's Republic Day celebrations in 2017, his second state visit in less than a year. Before Mr Modi’s visit, Indira Gandhi was the last Indian prime minister to visit the UAE way back in 1981.
Senior Indian petroleum and commerce ministers also met the Rulers, government officials and UAE businesses this month to grow cooperation and resolve bottlenecks to investment.
“We have moved towards identifying new areas of opportunity,” said Mr Suri.
“This time we brought a team that outlined the government of India’s plans in areas like highways, infrastructure, civil aviation, petroleum and natural gas so each side can get a sense and find levels of interest.”
During ministerial visits, New Delhi formalised its support to the World Expo with about $50 million toward a pavilion on a large 1.2 acre plot that will be among the permanent installations when the expo ends in 2021.
“India has committed at the level of the prime minister himself to have a very major participation at the expo. This is in keeping with the size of our economic relationship and the profile of our bilateral ties,” Mr Suri said about the pavilion that would merge stories about emerging technology start-ups with India’s heritage.
“The government has pledged 3.5 billion rupees ($49.6m) upfront and we have welcomed Indian and UAE-based businesses as sponsors.
“We asked the Non-Resident Indian business community to come on board as a visible symbol of the connection between the two countries.”
Mr Suri's successor Pavan Kapoor, currently envoy in Israel, will take up his new role later this month.
The UAE is India’s third largest trade partner with annual bilateral trade estimated at around $60bn.
The challenge for diplomats would be to stay in step with the leaders, Mr Suri said.
“This is a very dynamic relationship and the level of ambition that both Prime Minister Modi and Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed have is very high. For the diplomatic missions and our teams on ground it will remain a challenge to translate that vision into reality,” he said.
“The sky is the limit now and politically I expect the high level engagements will deepen even further.”
Career highlights
Syria
Three-year stint in Damascus in 1987 was “truly heartbreaking to see the state to which Syria has been reduced," Mr Suri said, in reference to the deep economy crisis and self-imposed isolation from the global economy at the time.
"We have the fondest memories of Damascus and Aleppo, two of the oldest, most historic cities on the planet.
“It was also the time of the first Gulf war that followed Saddam Hussein's invasion of Kuwait. We had already completed our tenure and our baggage had been shipped out when war broke. We spent the next two months in Damascus living out of our suitcases and monitoring the deteriorating situation.”
Tanzania
After a Washington posting, he was second in command at the Indian mission in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania in 1997.
“Dar was a tough place in those days with fairly basic medical facilities and limited availability of a range of essential goods and services," he said.
"The first few months were plagued by water scarcity and 18 hours-a-day power cuts. But we settled down and made friendships that will last a lifetime. Looking back, the wonders of Serengeti and Zanzibar seem more than fair compensation for the tough living conditions.”
UK
He moved to London in 2000 as spokesperson and head of the press office at the Indian High Commission in Aldwych. On major stories such as the Gujarat riots, the terrorist attack on Indian parliament and the nuclear stand-off between India and Pakistan, he conveyed India’s perspective to the British media.
South Africa
As consul general in Johannesburg from 2006 to 2009 it was back to a focus on economic, commercial and cultural work.
“It may sound clichéd but meeting Nelson Mandela was truly something special," he said.
Social Media
Back in India, he took charge of a relatively new public diplomacy division in New Delhi in 2009. Indian diplomacy accounts on Facebook, YouTube and Twitter were created in 2010 and audio-visual material was digitized.
Egypt
After his very first diplomatic assignment in Cairo in 1984, he returned as ambassador in 2009 during what he describes as a “turbulent time” working with the government of President Mohammed Morsi and then the interim government that followed.
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Pharaoh's curse
British aristocrat Lord Carnarvon, who funded the expedition to find the Tutankhamun tomb, died in a Cairo hotel four months after the crypt was opened.
He had been in poor health for many years after a car crash, and a mosquito bite made worse by a shaving cut led to blood poisoning and pneumonia.
Reports at the time said Lord Carnarvon suffered from “pain as the inflammation affected the nasal passages and eyes”.
Decades later, scientists contended he had died of aspergillosis after inhaling spores of the fungus aspergillus in the tomb, which can lie dormant for months. The fact several others who entered were also found dead withiin a short time led to the myth of the curse.
What the law says
Micro-retirement is not a recognised concept or employment status under Federal Decree Law No. 33 of 2021 on the Regulation of Labour Relations (as amended) (UAE Labour Law). As such, it reflects a voluntary work-life balance practice, rather than a recognised legal employment category, according to Dilini Loku, senior associate for law firm Gateley Middle East.
“Some companies may offer formal sabbatical policies or career break programmes; however, beyond such arrangements, there is no automatic right or statutory entitlement to extended breaks,” she explains.
“Any leave taken beyond statutory entitlements, such as annual leave, is typically regarded as unpaid leave in accordance with Article 33 of the UAE Labour Law. While employees may legally take unpaid leave, such requests are subject to the employer’s discretion and require approval.”
If an employee resigns to pursue micro-retirement, the employment contract is terminated, and the employer is under no legal obligation to rehire the employee in the future unless specific contractual agreements are in place (such as return-to-work arrangements), which are generally uncommon, Ms Loku adds.
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History's medical milestones
1799 - First small pox vaccine administered
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1953 - Structure of DNA discovered
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1954 - Clinical trials of birth control pill
1979 - MRI, or magnetic resonance imaging, scanned used to diagnose illness and injury.
1998 - The first adult live-donor liver transplant is carried out
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AT4 Ultimate, as tested
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The biog
Most memorable achievement: Leading my first city-wide charity campaign in Toronto holds a special place in my heart. It was for Amnesty International’s Stop Violence Against Women program and showed me the power of how communities can come together in the smallest ways to have such wide impact.
Favourite film: Childhood favourite would be Disney’s Jungle Book and classic favourite Gone With The Wind.
Favourite book: To Kill A Mockingbird for a timeless story on justice and courage and Harry Potters for my love of all things magical.
Favourite quote: “We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give.” — Winston Churchill
Favourite food: Dim sum
Favourite place to travel to: Anywhere with natural beauty, wildlife and awe-inspiring sunsets.
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if you go
The flights Fly Dubai, Air Arabia, Emirates, Etihad, and Royal Jordanian all offer direct, three-and-a-half-hour flights from the UAE to the Jordanian capital Amman. Alternatively, from June Fly Dubai will offer a new direct service from Dubai to Aqaba in the south of the country. See the airlines’ respective sites for varying prices or search on reliable price-comparison site Skyscanner.
The trip
Jamie Lafferty was a guest of the Jordan Tourist Board. For more information on adventure tourism in Jordan see Visit Jordan. A number of new and established tour companies offer the chance to go caving, rock-climbing, canyoning, and mountaineering in Jordan. Prices vary depending on how many activities you want to do and how many days you plan to stay in the country. Among the leaders are Terhaal, who offer a two-day canyoning trip from Dh845 per person. If you really want to push your limits, contact the Stronger Team. For a more trek-focused trip, KE Adventure offers an eight-day trip from Dh5,300 per person.
KILLING OF QASSEM SULEIMANI
'Worse than a prison sentence'
Marie Byrne, a counsellor who volunteers at the UAE government's mental health crisis helpline, said the ordeal the crew had been through would take time to overcome.
“It was worse than a prison sentence, where at least someone can deal with a set amount of time incarcerated," she said.
“They were living in perpetual mystery as to how their futures would pan out, and what that would be.
“Because of coronavirus, the world is very different now to the one they left, that will also have an impact.
“It will not fully register until they are on dry land. Some have not seen their young children grow up while others will have to rebuild relationships.
“It will be a challenge mentally, and to find other work to support their families as they have been out of circulation for so long. Hopefully they will get the care they need when they get home.”
Conflict, drought, famine
Estimates of the number of deaths caused by the famine range from 400,000 to 1 million, according to a document prepared for the UK House of Lords in 2024.
It has been claimed that the policies of the Ethiopian government, which took control after deposing Emperor Haile Selassie in a military-led revolution in 1974, contributed to the scale of the famine.
Dr Miriam Bradley, senior lecturer in humanitarian studies at the University of Manchester, has argued that, by the early 1980s, “several government policies combined to cause, rather than prevent, a famine which lasted from 1983 to 1985. Mengistu’s government imposed Stalinist-model agricultural policies involving forced collectivisation and villagisation [relocation of communities into planned villages].
The West became aware of the catastrophe through a series of BBC News reports by journalist Michael Buerk in October 1984 describing a “biblical famine” and containing graphic images of thousands of people, including children, facing starvation.
Band Aid
Bob Geldof, singer with the Irish rock group The Boomtown Rats, formed Band Aid in response to the horrific images shown in the news broadcasts.
With Midge Ure of the band Ultravox, he wrote the hit charity single Do They Know it’s Christmas in December 1984, featuring a string of high-profile musicians.
Following the single’s success, the idea to stage a rock concert evolved.
Live Aid was a series of simultaneous concerts that took place at Wembley Stadium in London, John F Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia, the US, and at various other venues across the world.
The combined event was broadcast to an estimated worldwide audience of 1.5 billion.
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Engine: Electric single motor (96kW), twin motor (106kW) and twin motor performance (106kW)
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