The present
BNP government perhaps changes its mind to replace Foreign Secretary Asad Alam
Siam, a seasoned and s career diplomat of the 15th BCS until this year,
reliable sources said.
Sources said
some quarters in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs over personal and political
interests overlooking the broader interest took a move to replace Asad Alam
Siam by Salahuddin Noman Chowdhury who is now Ambassador and permanent
Representative of Bangladesh to the United Nations in New York
Meanwhile,
the interim government of Professor Dr Mohammad Yunus has appointed Bangladesh
Ambassador to the United States (US) Asad Alam Siam as the new foreign
secretary on June 19, 2025.
Siam
succeeds Md Jashim Uddin, who was appointed as the country's 27th foreign
secretary in September last year (2024). Md Jashim Uddin worked less than one
year as FS as internal and external conflicts caused his removal and he was
sent to Canada as high commissioner.
A career
diplomat, Asad Alam Siam joined the Bangladesh Foreign Service in 1995.
During the
last one and plus, he worked professionally, sincerely, meticulously to
implement the vision and mission of the interim and political government,
An architect
by academic background, Siam completed his undergraduate studies at Bangladesh
University of Engineering and Technology (BUET) and later obtained an MBA from
the Maastricht School of Management in the Netherlands.
Throughout
his distinguished career, he undertook several professional courses at
institutions including the SAARC Secretariat in Kathmandu, APCSS in Hawaii,
IFANS in Seoul, and the National Defence College in Dhaka..
Frequent
changes in the post of FS has raised eyebrows and slowed down diplomatic
engagement with different countries, said a number of officials of the ministry
of foreign affairs
Meanwhile,
Md. Shahidul Haque, Bangladeshi career
diplomat who served as the 25th Foreign Secretary of Bangladesh during 2013 to 2019, achieving the longest tenure in
that role.
Masud Bin
Momen, a career diplomat, was appointed as the Foreign Secretary (FS) of
Bangladesh on December 31, 2019 and held this position till September 2024
Both Md.
Shahidul Haque and Masud Bin Momen got several extensions that hampered normal
posting of rest Bangladesh diplomats, sources said
Meanwhile,
after graduating from the Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology
in 1993, Salahuddin Noman Chowdhury worked in the private sector for five years
until joining the Bangladesh Foreign Service in 1998.
In his
diplomatic career, he worked in the Bangladesh embassies in New Delhi,
Islamabad and New York in various capacities. In the headquarters, he held
positions in departments like Administration, External Publicity, Multilateral
Economic Affairs, Protocol, United Nations, South East Asia and Foreign Service
Academy…..
Meanwhile,
the relations between Dhaka and New Delhi suffered a lot during the period of
the interim government as New Delhi took time to digest the political change in
Bangladesh since August 5, 2024
During the
last one year period, Bangladesh High Commissioner to India Riaz
Hamidullah worked hard to navigate,
repair, regroup and normalize the
relations between Dhaka and New Delhi .
Meanwhile, India sent Dinesh Trivedi, a
former Union Minister and veteran politician
as the next High Commissioner of
India to Bangladesh.
Dinesh
Trivedi, the current High Commissioner of India to Bangladesh, assumed office
in June 2026 after formally presenting his credentials to Bangladeshi President
Mohammed Shahabuddin at Bangabhaban. He succeeded Pranay Kumar Verma
Riaz
Hamidullah presented credentials as Bangladesh High Commissioner to India to
President Droupadi Murmu at a formal function in New Delhi on May 15, 2025.
Though the
Bangladesh government nominated Riaz Hamidullah as Bangladesh High Commissioner
to India, it took several months to present credentials to the Indian
President, diplomatic sources said
A 1995 batch
officer of the Bangladesh Foreign Service, Riaz was appointed to the post in
February and arrived in New Delhi in early April.
He succeeded
Mustafizur Rahman, who served until October last year, following his
appointment during the tenure of former prime minister Sheikh Hasina.
Riaz
previously served as Bangladesh's Ambassador to the Netherlands and High
Commissioner to Sri Lanka, and held the position of Secretary (west) at the
Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Dhaka.
An alumnus
of India's Aligarh Muslim University, he holds a postgraduate degree in
Economics.
He was High
Commissioner of Bangladesh to Sri Lanka
and Ambassador of Bangladesh to the Kingdom of the Netherlands in 2020.
Meanwhile, Foreign Affairs Minister Dr. Khalilur Rahman
and Prime Minister's Foreign Affairs Adviser Humayun Kabir lived over two
decades abroad and have limited perception about the foreign ministry
officials, sources said
Meanwhile,
Dr. Md. Nazrul Islam, the Secretary (East and West) at the headquarters of the
Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Dhaka,
Nazrul Islam, Bangladesh Ambassador to Russia, Md. Daud Ali, Bangladesh
Ambasador to Japan, FM Borhan Uddin, Bangladesh High Commission to Australia and Khondker M Talha, Bangladesh
Ambassador to France, are also competent enough to become the next FS, sources
said.
