Dhaka [Bangladesh], May 21 (ANI): Bangladesh's interim government has approved the appointment of Asad Alam Siam, the country's ambassador to the United States, as the new Foreign Secretary, a senior official of the Foreign Ministry said on Wednesday.

Bangladesh's Foreign Affairs Adviser Touhid Hossain told reporters on Wednesday that the current Foreign Secretary, Jashim Uddin, does not want to serve in this position. However, the Adviser did not say anything about the exact reason why he does not wish to remain the current secretary.

Ambassador Asad Alam Siam joined the diplomatic service in 1995. As a graduate in architecture from Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology, Ambassador Siam earned his MBA from Maastricht School of Management, the Netherlands.

Ambassador Siam attended various professional courses at the SAARC Secretariat, Kathmandu; APCSS, Hawaii; IFANS, Seoul; and National Defence College, Dhaka. He has also been a guest lecturer in various training institutions in Bangladesh.

In his long diplomatic career, Ambassador Siam served as Director in the Offices of the 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 its Ambassador to the Philippines, Palau, Austria, Hungary, Slovenia, and Slovakia. He participated in various bilateral, regional, and multilateral negotiations representing Bangladesh.

He served as Bangladesh's Permanent Representative to the UN Offices in Vienna and to the OPEC Fund. He was also Bangladesh's alternate permanent representative at UNESCAP in Bangkok.

He served as governor on the Board of Governors of the IAEA, vice chair at the 67th Commission on Narcotics and Drugs in UNODC, and chair and governor of the Board of Governors of the Colombo Plan Staff College, Manila.

He joined the Bangladesh Embassy in the US in December 2024. (ANI)