Ex-envoy Hardeep Puri joins BJP

NEW DELHI: Career diplomat Hardeep Singh Puri, who recently retired as India's Permanent Representative to the United Nations, today joined BJP.

Welcoming him in the party fold, BJP President Rajnath Singh said, "We look forward to utilising his experience in the areas of Foreign Security and Trade policies".

A 1974-batch Indian Foreign Service Officer, Puri in his 39 years of service held several senior positions in the Ministry of External Affairs and Defence and held Ambassadorial assignments in London and Brasilia.

In 2011 and 2012, as Permanent Representative at UN in New York, he led the Indian delegation to the Security Council. He also chaired its Counter-Terrorism Committee.

Puri said he was delighted to formally join the party which he had long admired for its strong sense of nationalism. He said he looked forward to doing party work and was ready to contribute in whatever manner the Party President and its senior leadership asked him to.