India’s Ministry of External Affairs has agreed to Bangladesh’s proposal to appoint Foreign Secretary Asad Alam Siam as its next High Commissioner to New Delhi. The agrément, or official host country approval, was conveyed to Dhaka, with the Bangladesh High Commission in New Delhi formally notified.
Bangladesh had proposed Siam’s name for the post on July 13, and diplomatic sources in both capitals have since confirmed the development. He will replace M Riaz Hamidullah, who is moving to Geneva to take up the role of Bangladesh’s permanent representative to the United Nations.
A Career Diplomat with Deep Experience
Siam joined the Bangladesh Foreign Service in 1995 and has held a wide range of postings over three decades. He most recently served as Bangladesh’s Ambassador to the United States, and before that as Ambassador to Austria, with concurrent accreditation to Hungary and Slovenia, alongside serving as permanent representative to the UN Office in Vienna.
Earlier in his career, he was Bangladesh’s first Consul General in Milan and served as Ambassador to the Philippines, with concurrent accreditation to Palau. He also held key roles at the Foreign Ministry in Dhaka, including Chief of Protocol, Director General of the Europe and EU Wing, and Rector of the Foreign Service Academy.
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Academic Background and Training
A graduate in architecture from the Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology, Siam later earned an MBA from the Maastricht School of Management. He has also completed professional courses at institutions including the SAARC Secretariat in Kathmandu, the Asia-Pacific Centre for Security Studies in Hawaii, and the National Defence College in Dhaka.
A Sensitive Posting Amid Bilateral Complexities
Siam currently serves as Bangladesh’s Foreign Secretary, a post he has held since June 2025, and was reportedly in New York accompanying the Bangladeshi delegation at the time the approval came through.
His move to New Delhi places him at the centre of one of Bangladesh’s most consequential bilateral relationships, one that has faced a series of sensitive issues in recent years, with both governments signalling continued interest in keeping diplomatic channels open. With Siam’s transition to New Delhi, Salahuddin Noman Chowdhury, Bangladesh’s immediate past permanent representative to the UN in New York, is expected to take over as the country’s next Foreign Secretary.
