Vijay Nambiar joins Annan's team of advisers

Veteran Indian diplomat Vijay Nambiar has joined United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan's influential team of advisors.

The former Indian ambassador to UN will advise Annan on a wide range of issues, represent him at high-level meetings and liaison with UN ambassadors from various member states. His initial appointment is for a year.

Nambiar, who is also a member of the policy committee, is currently the second Indian to hold the rank of under secretary general. The other, Shashi Tharoor, heads the UN communication and public information department since 2001.

Nambiar served as the country's deputy national security advisor and head of the national security council secretariat in New Delhi before taking up his current assignment at the United Nations. He had previously served as Indian ambassador to Pakistan (2000-2001), China (1996-2000), Malaysia (1993-1996), and Afghanistan (1990-1992).

During the course of his professional career in the Indian Foreign Service, Nambiar had served in numerous bilateral and multilateral appointments in Beijing, Belgrade and New York during the 1970s and 1980s. He was joint secretary (director general) handling East Asia in 1988 during former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi's historic visit to China.

He also dealt with multilateral affairs at the headquarters in New Delhi during the early 1980s. Nambiar was involved at the delegation level in numerous UN and non-aligned summit and ministerial conferences since 1979.