The Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) government has decided to make significant changes in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs five months after taking office.
Along with appointing a new Foreign Secretary, the government is set to appoint new faces as Bangladesh’s Permanent Representatives to New York, High Commissioners to Delhi and London, and Permanent Representative to Geneva.
Among these, appointments in New York and London are being made based on political considerations.
A government policymaker confirmed the planned changes in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to Prothom Alo on Tuesday.
After the BNP government assumed office in February, it instructed four ambassadors, who were appointed during the interim government, to return home.
Additionally, three professional diplomats have been appointed as ambassadors in three countries over the last two months.
Multiple officials from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, requesting anonymity, have informed this correspondent that Salahuddin Noman Chowdhury, Bangladesh’s Permanent Representative to New York, is being appointed as the Foreign Secretary.
The current Foreign Secretary, Asad Alam Siam, is being appointed as the next High Commissioner of Bangladesh to Delhi.
Currently, Bangladesh’s High Commissioner to India, M Riaz Hamidullah, is being sent to Geneva as Bangladesh’s Permanent Representative.
Simultaneously, a decision has been made to bring Nahida Sobhan, the current Permanent Representative to Geneva, back to Dhaka as the Rector of the Foreign Service Academy.
It is noteworthy that Asad Alam Siam was appointed as the Foreign Secretary during the interim government led by Professor Muhammad Yunus. Asad Alam, the former Ambassador of Bangladesh to Washington, succeeded Md Jasim Uddin as Foreign Secretary on 20 June 2025.
The government has decided to appoint Irene Khan, a renowned human rights activist and former Secretary-General of Amnesty International, as Bangladesh’s Permanent Representative to New York.
It is speculated that Irene Khan may assume her new role in New York before the next session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in September.
When asked about the implementation of changes in major missions, including the new Foreign Secretary, multiple officials stated that as those are interrelated, those are dependent on the time of Irene Khan taking the role of Bangladesh's Permanent Representative to New York.
It is known that AKM Wahiduzzaman, BNP’s information and technology affairs secretary, is expected to be appointed as the Deputy Permanent Representative in Bangladesh’s Mission to the United Nations in New York.
The position of Bangladesh’s High Commissioner to the UK has been vacant since March. The government is sending Mohammed Abdul Muhith, the current Rector of the Foreign Service Academy and former Permanent Representative of Bangladesh to the United Nations, to London as the new High Commissioner of Bangladesh.
Meanwhile, the government has decided to appoint Molla Farhad, Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, as the next Ambassador of Bangladesh to Mauritius, succeeding Joki Ahad. The government has already appointed Joki Ahad as the next High Commissioner of Bangladesh to Denmark.
Since taking office on 18 February, the BNP government has appointed new ambassadors in three countries. Apart from Joki Ahad, the newly appointed ambassadors include Nur-e-Alam to Ireland and AFM Zahidul Islam to Argentina.
Currently, the positions of Ambassador at the Bangladesh embassies in Singapore and Iran are vacant.
Nazmul Islam remains in Maldives
After the BNP government was formed, a decision was made in early March to bring back the ambassadors appointed to Portugal, Poland, Mexico, and Maldives, who were on contract.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs ordered Bangladesh’s ambassadors to Portugal, Poland, Mexico, and Maldives, respectively, M Mahfuzul Haq, Md Moynul Islam, M Mushfikul Fazl (Ansari), and Md. Nazmul Islam, to return to Dhaka.
Among the four ambassadors who were appointed on a contractual basis during the interim government, three have returned to the country as per the government’s order.
However, Bangladesh’s High Commissioner to Maldives, Md Nazmul Islam, has not returned. He has applied to the government and remains at his post.
