Jaideep Mazumdar

Introduction

Ambassador Jaideep Mazumdar is a Distinguished Visiting Research Fellow at the Institute of South Asian Studies at the National University of Singapore.

He retired from the Indian Foreign Service in March 2025 after a distinguished career spanning over 35 years. His most recent role was as Secretary (East) in the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) [2024-2025], where he led India’s engagement with regions including Southeast Asia, East and Northeast Asia, Oceania, the Pacific, Latin America and the Caribbean, and North America. He also oversaw India’s partnerships with key regional organisations such as the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC), South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation, Indian Ocean Rim Association, Mekong-Ganga Cooperation, Forum for India-Pacific Islands Cooperation and the IndiaCaribbean Community Summit.

Previously, he served as Ambassador of India to Austria, the Holy See and Montenegro (2020-2024), during which he was concurrently India’s Governor on the Board of Governors of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). In 2023, he chaired the Plenary of the Wassenaar Arrangement, a major multilateral export control regime. From 2017 to 2020, he was Ambassador to the Philippines, Palau and Micronesia, and earlier held senior diplomatic roles including Deputy Head of Mission in Beijing and Kathmandu, and postings in Bangladesh and Egypt. He spent a total of eight years working on China-related assignments, including in Beijing and Hong Kong.

Ambassador Mazumdar has rich experience in multilateral diplomacy. As Permanent Representative to international organisations in Vienna, he represented India at the IAEA, the United Nations (UN) Industrial Development Organisation, the UN Office on Drugs and Crime and UN Office for Outer Space Affairs. He also served as India’s delegate to the UN General Assembly in New York (2002-2006). As Secretary (East), he was India’s Senior Official at the ASEAN and East Asia Summits, BIMSTEC and ASEAN Regional Forum meetings. Notably, he chaired the India-ASEAN Senior Officials Meetings in both 2024 (New Delhi) and 2025 (Manila) and represented India at several high-level regional forums, including the 2024 East Asia Summit and ASEAN Regional Forum Senior Officials’ Meeting in Vientiane. Earlier, as Ambassador to the Philippines during its ASEAN Chairmanship in 2017, he represented India at various ASEAN-related forums and at the Russia-India-China Dialogue on East Asia.

Ambassador Mazumdar played a key role in institution-building, notably leading the foundational phase of Nalanda University, an East Asia Summit initiative. As Joint Secretary (South) in the MEA (2014-2017), he supervised India’s relations with ASEAN and Oceania and concurrently headed the 2 Nalanda Division, overseeing governance, financing, design and construction of the university’s campus. He was the Member Secretary of Nalanda University’s Governing Board (2024-2025). In earlier roles, he served as Chair of the Board of Kendriya Vidyalaya, Kathmandu, and launched the India Business Forum in the Philippines, the Austro-India Business Forum and the Indian Professionals Network in Austria.

Post-retirement, Ambassador Mazumdar continues to contribute to policy and strategic thought. He is a Member of the Governing Council of the India Foundation, one of India’s leading think tanks, and of Asian Confluence, which focuses on India’s Northeast and its integration with Southeast Asia.

Areas of Interest and Expertise

• Indian Foreign Policy
• Multilateral Diplomacy
• India’s East and Indo-Pacific policy
• Integration with Southeast Asia