Ambassador Salahuddin Noman Chowdhury, Bangladesh’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations in New York, is likely to be appointed the country’s next foreign secretary, officials said.
The government is also considering appointing the current Foreign Secretary Asad Alam Siam as Bangladesh’s High Commissioner to India, a key diplomatic posting that carries major strategic importance.
A senior government official said several changes are expected in important diplomatic assignments. Among them, internationally recognised human rights activist Irene Khan, currently the UN Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression, is likely to be appointed Bangladesh’s Permanent Representative to the UN in New York.
Khan has been serving as the UN special rapporteur since August 2020 and is the first woman to hold the position since the mandate was created in 1993.
Salahuddin Noman Chowdhury joined the Bangladesh Foreign Service in 1998. Before taking charge as permanent representative to the UN, he served as Bangladesh’s ambassador to Nepal from November 2020 to December 2024.
During his more than two-decade diplomatic career, he has served in Bangladesh missions in New Delhi, New York, Islamabad and other key postings. At the foreign ministry headquarters, he worked in the UN, Economic Affairs, Administration, Protocol, External Publicity and Southeast Asia wings, as well as at the Foreign Service Academy.
Meanwhile, Asad Alam Siam, who assumed office as foreign secretary on 20 June 2025, is set to complete one year in the position. A career diplomat who joined the foreign service in 1995, Siam has held several high-profile assignments, including Bangladesh’s ambassador to the United States, Austria and the Philippines.
He also served as Bangladesh’s permanent representative to the World Bank, International Monetary Fund, UN offices in Vienna and the OPEC Fund, and represented the country at the Asian Development Bank and International Rice Research Institute.
The post of Bangladesh’s High Commissioner to the United Kingdom has remained vacant since March. Former UN ambassador and current Rector of the Foreign Service Academy Mohammad Abdul Muhith is likely to be appointed to the position.
Meanwhile, BNP Information and Technology Secretary AKM Wahiduzzaman is likely to be named Deputy Permanent Representative of Bangladesh to the UN in New York.
The government is also expected to appoint M. Farhadul Islam, Secretary (Intergovernmental Organisations) at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, as Bangladesh’s next ambassador to Mauritius.
