Foreign Affairs Adviser Touhid Hossain has said Bangladesh will name a new foreign secretary once the current one steps down in a couple of days.
The adviser disclosed this information amid speculation that Foreign Secretary Jashim Uddin would be dismissed, and a new face may replace him at the ministry soon.
“There is no question of dismissal. The foreign secretary may wish to step down for various reasons, and we are letting him do so,” Hossain told reporters when asked about the matter on Wednesday.
“What I mean by ‘by stepping down’ is that he wants to leave this responsibility. He will relinquish his duties within the next couple of days,” the adviser added.
Uddin was appointed as foreign secretary amid a wave of changes at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs barely a month after Sheikh Hasina’s government was ousted last August in the face of a mass uprising.
A 13th batch officer of the Bangladesh Civil Service (Foreign Cadre), Jashim Uddin took charge as foreign Secretary on September 8. He is scheduled to go on post-retirement leave in December 2026.
Officials at the ministry indicated that there are considerations to appoint Uddin as ambassador again and send him abroad. He had previously served as Bangladesh’s ambassador to China, Qatar, and Greece.
When asked whether Uddin is going on leave or resigning from his job, the adviser replied, “Why would he resign? He is still in the service. When someone is still employed, only their responsibilities change.”
Regarding the new appointee, Touhid Hossain, himself a former foreign secretary, said, “You will find out within a couple of days.”
Asked whether this decision was influenced by external pressure, he said, “The thing is, behind every decision there are multiple interests and differing opinions. That’s normal. In government, no decision is taken unilaterally. Often, decisions are revised considering various perspectives. So, let’s see.”
