Bangladesh’s Permanent Delegate to Unesco Ambassador Khondker M Talha has been elected president of the 43rd General Conference of Unesco, defeating Japan’s Ambassador Takehiro Kano by a close margin of 30–27 votes.
The election took place on Tuesday during the 222nd session of the Unesco Executive Board in Paris. The election for the presidency was initially contested by Bangladesh, Japan, India, and South Korea. However, India and South Korea withdrew their candidacies in September, leaving Bangladesh and Japan in the final race, according to a press release issued by the Bangladesh Embassy in France.
Ambassador Talha’s election marks a historic milestone — he is the first Bangladeshi ever to hold this top position since Bangladesh joined Unesco 53 years ago. He will succeed Ambassador Simona Mirela Miculescu of Romania during the upcoming General Conference scheduled to be held in Samarkand, Uzbekistan, later this month.
A seasoned diplomat with over three decades of experience, Ambassador Talha has served as Bangladesh’s Ambassador to France, Monaco, and Côte d’Ivoire, as well as Permanent Delegate to Unesco since 2021. Under his leadership, Bangladesh achieved several significant diplomatic successes at Unesco, including winning six key elections, such as those to the Unesco Executive Board and the Intergovernmental Committee for Safeguarding Intangible Cultural Heritage.
Notably, ‘Rickshaw and Rickshaw Art of Dhaka’ was inscribed on Unesco’s list of Intangible Cultural Heritage during his tenure. Ambassador Talha also served two consecutive terms as Sherpa of the high-level steering committee for SDG4 (education) and played a leading role in negotiating innovative financing mechanisms for least developed countries (LDCs) and lower-middle-income countries (LMICs).
He has chaired several key Unesco committees, including the Intergovernmental Committee on the Diversity of Cultural Expressions (2005 Convention) and the Committee for Non-Governmental Partners (NGP), as well as the Asia-Pacific Group at Unesco.
In his initial reaction, Ambassador Talha expressed deep gratitude to the chief adviser and the foreign ministry for entrusting him with this prestigious nomination. He also thanked Education Adviser Chowdhury Rafiqul Abrar and Cultural Adviser Mostafa Sarwar Farooki for their support.
Calling his election a “manifestation of the global community’s confidence in Bangladesh’s active and sustained diplomatic engagement,” Talha pledged to work “relentlessly to uphold Unesco’s mandate at this critical time for multilateralism.” He dedicated the historic achievement to the people of Bangladesh at home and abroad.
