PMI bids farewell to Ambassador Nagaraj Naidu

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New York: The Permanent Mission of India (PMI) to the United Nations hosted a farewell reception to the outgoing Chef de Cabinet (CDC) of the 76^th General Assembly President, Ambassador Nagaraj Naidu, on September 13, 2022.

India’s first woman Permanent Representative to UN, Ambassador Ruchira Kamboj, lauded Naidu’s efforts in efficiently handling the world’s crises during his term as CDC. Wishing him well, she went on to say Naidu is popular for his many talents which include being the resident expert on China and yoga.

Underscoring the India-Maldives relationship, Kamboj also congratulated the outgoing General Assembly President and Foreign Minister of Maldives, Abdullah Shahid, for his outstanding leadership and for the successful delivery of his vision, “Presidency of Hope.”

During his address, Shahid stated “Ambassador Nagaraj who served as CDC during my tenure as the 76^th General Assembly President is an outstanding diplomat. You’re not only my CDC, but also my most trusted friend and advisor. You provided good guidance and counsel over the last year,” adding “please note that I deeply appreciate everything that you did for the Presidency. I’m also grateful to the Indian government for seconding one of the best and brightest stars to lead my team. I came in promising ‘Presidency of Hope’ and from day one Ambassador Nagaraj believed in that.”

He highlighted that his team set a record as the largest Office of the President of the General Assembly ever in UN’s history with 74 people from 49 countries speaking 30 different languages. “Ambassador Nagaraj with his outstanding capacity kept the team together. His leadership was so integral that we were able to accomplish so much.”

He went on to congratulate the Indian Foreign Service for its outstanding work and noted that the global significance of India in multilateralism and United Nations has dramatically increased to classify India as a seminal part of every equation the world is trying to achieve.

Naidu reciprocated and said it was his singular honor and pleasure to work as Shahid’s CDC, and thanked the Indian government for considering him for this post. He recalled the post as extremely intense but also fulfilling. He was particularly appreciative of support received from the Maldives team, as well as Indian diplomats and officials at UN for supporting “Presidency of Hope.” Thanking colleagues at PMI, Naidu said he was leaving with many pleasant and hilarious memories.

Deputy Permanent Representative (DPR), Ambassador R. Ravindra, who attended the Union Public Service Commission interview along with Naidu on the same day in Delhi, said, “you have achieved a lot of things. I think you are perhaps one of the brightest stars in our foreign service. Wherever you have served, you have left your mark.”

Naidu, who previously served as DPR, at PMI, became the first Indian diplomat to serve in the role of CDC to the UN General Assembly President.

When asked about his term, Naidu told News India Times, “the 76th session of the General Assembly in many ways was spectacular. It was a session which began when COVID was still at its peak and UN was shut to the outside world. Coming into office, we made sure that UN gradually opened.”

“We are very happy that UN is now fully operational for business. But, it was very unfortunate that the 76^th session also saw the outbreak of war between Russia and Ukraine when the Security Council was not able to arrive at a decision after Russia vetoed the resolution. The issue of Ukraine had moved to the General Assembly. And for the first time in 40 years, on request of the Security Council, the General Assembly convened a special emergency session which had seen two resolutions being passed.”

He added that the session saw many Member States coming together on a very significant issue. All of this had also repercussions on several general assembly processes, particularly the ongoing negotiations on road safety. “Ultimately, I had to take on the role of a facilitator to ensure that Russia and Ukraine were brought on board resulting in a consensus resolution on an issue that is dear to all countries, particularly the developing South.”

Two administrative staff members at PMI, Bindu Nair, and Sunil Kumar were also given farewell on the occasion.