(MENAFN- Colombo Gazette) Former US Ambassador to Sri Lanka Atul Keshap has been appointed as a Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of State.

Keshap assumed duties as the Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for the Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs.

Across his 25 year career as an American diplomat, Ambassador Keshap has served at postings in India, Morocco, and Guinea, and as United States Ambassador to Sri Lanka and Maldives.

He has served as Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for South Asia, as U.S. Senior Official for Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation, and as an Office Director in the Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs and in the Bureau of International Organization Affairs.

Ambassador Keshap has negotiated or advanced bilateral and multilateral initiatives at senior levels with counterparts from the European Union, United Nations, Japan, United Kingdom, France, India, Canada, Australia, Taiwan, Mexico, Russia, China, Indonesia, Egypt, Morocco, and several other countries in Africa, the Arab world, Asia, Europe, and Latin America.

Prior to his current assignment, Ambassador Keshap served at the Department of Defense as the National Defense University's Vice Chancellor for the College of International Security Affairs. Earlier in his career, he served as Director for North Africa and Middle East regional affairs on the National Security Council staff in the Executive Office of the President of the United States.

In 2018, Ambassador Keshap received one of the State Department's highest honors, the Distinguished Honor Award, from Secretary of State Mike Pompeo in recognition of his leadership in advancing U.S. interests in the Indian Ocean region. He is also the recipient of numerous individual Superior and Meritorious Honor Awards.

MENAFN2807201901900000ID1098813185