New Delhi: Asad Alam Siam, Foreign Secretary of Bangladesh, will soon take up what is considered Bangladesh's most important diplomatic assignment and move to New Delhi as the new Bangladesh High Commissioner to India.
In diplomatic procedure, an "agrement" is necessary for an incoming ambassador or high commissioner. Before a proposed ambassador is formally appointed, the sending state must usually request the "agrement", or prior consent, of the receiving state according to the terms of Article 4 of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations.
A copy of the "agrement" in the case of Asad Alam Siam (an official approval by the host country) has already been handed over to Bangladesh.
The term of the current Bangladesh High Commissioner to India, Riaz Hamidullah, ends next month and Bangladesh has chosen its top-most foreign ministry official to take up the post of High Commissioner to India. Foreign Secretary Asad Alam Siam is currently in New York accompanying Bangladesh Prime Minister Tarique Rahman as a member of the Bangladesh delegation to the UNGA.
M Riaz Hamidullah, will take up his new assignment as Permanent Representative of Bangladesh to the United Nations in Geneva next month.
The incoming High Commissioner to India, Asad Alam Siam assumed the post of Foreign Secretary in June 2025 and has completed a little over more than one year in office.
In his previous assignment, Siam served as Bangladesh's Ambassador to the United States and as Bangladesh's Permanent Representative to the World Bank (WB) and the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
The Foreign Secretary, and Bangladesh's next High Commissioner to India is now in New York accompanying Prime Minister Tarique Rahman as a member of the Bangladesh delegation to the UNGA.
The government is scheduled to appoint Salahuddin Noman Chowdhury, Permanent Representative of Bangladesh to the United Nations in New York, as the next Foreign Secretary.
Foreign Secretary Siam will take up his responsibilities soon as Bangladesh's High Commissioner to India sometime next month. Bangladesh's current High Commissioner to India, M Riaz Hamidullah, will take up his new assignment as Permanent Representative of Bangladesh to the United Nations in Geneva next month.
As Foreign Secretary, Siam has completed one year in office, having assumed the post on June 20, 2025. A career diplomat, Asad Alam Siam joined the Bangladesh Foreign Service in 1995. Throughout his distinguished diplomatic career, he has served extensively both at home and abroad.
He will have the challenging task of navigating Bangladesh's ties with India as several pending issues continue to crop even in the midst of a rest in ties. Bangladesh's Prime Minister Tarique Rahman is likely to visit India in November this year and the talk of handling the visit from Bangladesh's side.
Several other high-profile bilateral issues like the renewal of the Ganga Waters treaty are also likely to take place under his stewardship and these issues will require skilled and adept diplomacy as the two countries look at moving past strains that led to a deterioration in ties under the interim regime led by Muhammad Yunus.
