“Until further notice, Asad Alam Siam, Secretary at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, will carry out the responsibilities of the Foreign Secretary,” said the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in an office order issued on Thursday which will come into effect on June 20.
The new Foreign Secretary is likely to join office on Sunday, a senior official told UNB.
In September last year, the government appointed Md Jashim Uddin as the 27th Foreign Secretary of Bangladesh.
As assigned by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Secretary Md Ruhul Alam Siddique was carrying out the routine works of the Foreign Secretary since May 23 as the Foreign Secretary left his responsibilities.
Secretary Siam joined the diplomatic service in 1995 and then Bangladesh Embassy in the USA in December 2024.
A graduate in Architecture from Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology, Siam did his MBA from Maastricht School of Management, the Netherlands.
He attended different professional courses at the SAARC Secretariat, Kathmandu; APCSS, Hawaii; IFANS, Seoul; National Defence College, Dhaka. He was a guest lecturer in different training institutions in Bangladesh.
In his long diplomatic career, Secretary Siam served as Director in the Offices of Foreign Minister, Foreign Secretary; Director General in Europe and EU wing; Chief of Protocol, Rector of the Foreign Service Academy and Inspector General of Missions in the Foreign Ministry.
Overseas, he served in Bangladesh Missions in Bangkok, Jakarta and Manchester.
He was Bangladesh's first Consul General in Milan, Italy; and Bangladesh's Ambassador to the Philippines, Palau, Austria, Hungary, Slovenia and Slovakia.
Secretary Siam participated in various bilateral, regional and multilateral negotiations representing Bangladesh, and served as Bangladesh’s Permanent Representative to the UN Offices in Vienna and to the OPEC Fund.
Secretary Siam was also Bangladesh’s Alternate Permanent Representative to the UNESCAP in Bangkok.
He served as Governor in the Board of Governors of IAEA, Vice Chair at the 67th Commission on Narcotic and Drugs in UNODC, in the Board of Governors of the Colombo Plan Staff College, Manila both as a Chair and a Governor, reports UNB.