Mr Akbaruddin takes charge at the U.N at a time when India is pushing hard for a permanent seat for itself in the Security Council. India is also pushing the world body for an international convention on terrorism.

Mr. Akbaruddin, a 1985-batch Indian Foreign Service officer, served as the spokesperson of the Ministry of External Affairs from 2012 to 2015. He was the chief coordinator of the India-Africa Forum Summit in October 2015 in New Delhi that brought all 54 African States together. He served at the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in Vienna from 2006 to 2011 and earlier worked at India’s Permanent Mission at the U.N.