Mumbai [Maharashtra], August 8 (ANI): Mike Hankey, a senior foreign service officer was appointed as the new consul general of the United States in Mumbai, an official statement said on Monday.

Hankey, who succeeds the former Consul General David J Ranz assumed his duties on Sunday, an official statement from the US Embassy in India stated.

Prior to this, Hankey served as the Deputy Chief of Mission at the US Embassy in Amman. He also headed the Palestinian Affairs Unit at US Embassy in Jerusalem from its establishment in early 2019 as the lead for US engagement with the Palestinians.

A career member of the Senior Foreign Service, he was previously deputy to the chief of mission of US Consulate General Jerusalem and the Consul General at the US Consulate General in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia, where he led an inter-agency team promoting commercial and security ties in the heart of the Saudi oil industry.

Since joining the Foreign Service in 2001, Hankey has led teams to build deep and productive links with political, economic, and media partners across the Middle East, Africa, and South Asia.

In Egypt before and during the Arab Spring, he advanced engagement with both Muslim and Christian communities.

In earlier tours, he promoted economic development in northwestern Iraq, American consular and commercial interests in Yemen, and media professionalism in Nigeria.

In Washington, he led worldwide media outreach to promote global security, disarmament, and economic prosperity as well as the team advancing American engagement with South Asia audiences.

Fluent in Arabic, French, and Tamil, Hankey received his Bachelor's Degree in international affairs and journalism from George Washington University, with a focus on South Asian studies and his Master's Degree in second language education from Indiana University.

Hankey, who is also a former journalist has worked on many key assignments in the middle-east and Africa.

Prior to the Foreign Service, he worked as a newspaper reporter and as an international affairs editor for a news service covering the United Nations, and in support of US government public affairs outreach on Arab-Israeli and South Asian issues.

He has written a textbook for learning Nigerian Pidgin English. He will be accompanied to Mumbai by his wife and their two sons, the statement said.

The Consulate General seeks to promote US-India relations and progress towards common goals through information outreach, dialogue and exchange in western and central India, including Mumbai and the states of Maharashtra, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, and Goa, it added. (ANI)