Bangladesh’s current Foreign Secretary Asad Alam Siam is set to take charge soon as the country’s new High Commissioner to New Delhi. A senior official said on Tuesday that India has already conveyed its formal agreement to the appointment.

Siam is currently in New York attending the United Nations General Assembly. He is there as a member of the Bangladesh delegation led by Prime Minister Tarique Rahman.

Noman Chowdhury Set to Become New Foreign Secretary

Following Siam’s move to the Bangladesh mission in New Delhi, preparations are underway to appoint Salahuddin Noman Chowdhury, Bangladesh’s former Permanent Representative to the United Nations, as the new Foreign Secretary.

Noman Chowdhury previously served as Bangladesh’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations in New York. Before that, he was Bangladesh’s ambassador to Nepal from November 2020 to December 2024.

During a diplomatic career spanning more than two decades, he has served in various capacities at the Bangladesh High Commission in New Delhi, Bangladesh’s Permanent Mission to the United Nations in New York, the Bangladesh Consulate General in New York, and the Bangladesh High Commission in Islamabad.

In Dhaka, he has also worked in the Foreign Ministry’s wings dealing with the United Nations, economic relations, administration, protocol, external publicity, and Southeast Asia. He has also served at the Foreign Service Academy.

Siam’s Extensive Diplomatic Experience

Asad Alam Siam joined the Bangladesh Foreign Service in 1995. He assumed office as Foreign Secretary on June 20, 2025. Before that, he served as Bangladesh’s ambassador to the United States and concurrently as ambassador to Guyana. During the same period, he was Bangladesh’s Permanent Representative to the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund.

From 2023 to 2024, he served as Bangladesh’s ambassador to Austria. At the same time, he was concurrently accredited as ambassador to Hungary and Slovenia and served as Bangladesh’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations Office in Vienna and the OPEC Fund.

Earlier, from 2017 to 2021, he served as Bangladesh’s ambassador to the Philippines. During that period, he was concurrently accredited as ambassador to Palau and served as Bangladesh’s Permanent Representative to the Asian Development Bank and the International Rice Research Institute.

Siam’s career also includes serving as Bangladesh’s first Consul General in Milan, Italy; Deputy High Commissioner in Manchester, United Kingdom; and diplomat at Bangladesh’s embassies in Jakarta and Bangkok.

He has also held several key positions at the Foreign Ministry, including Inspector General of Missions, Rector of the Foreign Service Academy, Chief of Protocol, and Director General of the Europe and European Union Wing.

Meanwhile, Bangladesh’s current High Commissioner to India, M Riaz Hamidullah, is set to take up a new assignment next month as Bangladesh’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations in Geneva.

Asad Alam Siam’s appointment as Bangladesh’s new High Commissioner to New Delhi therefore comes as part of a series of changes in several important diplomatic positions.

Siam’s appointment is nearing finalization following India’s formal approval, and he may assume his new post soon.