Talmiz Ahmad joined the Indian Foreign Service in 1974. During the last 36 years, he has acquired a special interest in the countries of the Gulf and the Arabian Peninsula, having been posted early in his career in Kuwait, Baghdad and Sana’a, and later as Consul General in Jeddah (1987-90). He has also served in the Indian Missions in New York, London and Pretoria. After having been the head of the Gulf and Haj Division in the Ministry of External Affairs in 1998-2000, he was appointed Ambassador of India to Saudi Arabia in January 2000, after which he became the Indian Ambassador to the Sultanate of Oman in July 2003. He joined the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas as Additional Secretary for International Cooperation in 2004-06. He then served as Director General of the Indian Council of World Affairs, India’s premier foreign affairs think-tank, between April 2006-July 2007. He assumed charge as the Ambassador of India to the UAE in August 2007. In January 2010, he commenced his second stint as Ambassador to Saudi Arabia. Talmiz Ahmad writes and lectures regularly on Political Islam, the politics of West Asia and energy security. His papers on energy have appeared in several books and journals. His book titled: Reform in the Arab World: External Influences and Regional Debates, was published in July 2005. His new book titled :Children of Abraham at War : The Clash of Messianic Militarisms, was released in September 2010. In July 2011, the Saudi Government conferred on him the King Abdul Aziz Medal First Class for his contribution to the promotion of Indo – Saudi relations. After retirement from Foreign Service, he works as an Energy consultant in Dubai.