NEW DELHI, May 26: Former ambassador to Pakistan Jyotindra Nath Dixit was named India's new National Security Advisor (NSA) on Wednesday, reviving a more familiar 'Congress-era' foreign policy pursuit but with the new nuclear dimension in mind.

The announcement coincided with a phone call by US President George W. Bush to Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in which he urged the need to consolidate their close relationship and to get the national security advisers of the two countries to establish close contacts forthwith.

Mr Dixit has been India's envoy in Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Afghanistan. He was foreign secretary during the Narasimha Rao government when diplomatic ties with Israel were established in 1992 after consulting the Palestinian leadership.