Indian envoy seeks support for Shashi Tharoor

Dubai, Aug 19: India's Special Envoy on West Asia Peace Process Chinmaya R Gharekhan is visiting Qatar to seek its support for Shashi Tharoor's candidature for the UN Secretary General's post.

Gharekhan, who has served as India's Permanent Representative to the UN in New York and Geneva, will be calling on the Emir Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani on August 21, press reports said.

Tharoor, now Under-Secretary General for communications and public information at the UN, is India's official candidate for the Secretary-General's post which falls vacant at the end of the year.

Tharoor, a career diplomat and writer, has served in the UN for over two decades.

Among the other contenders in the race are Thai Deputy premier Surakiart Sathirathai, South Korean Foreign Minister Ban Ki-Moon and Sri Lanka's former envoy to the UN and current close Annan aide Jayanta Dhanapala.

UNI