Asad Alam Siam Set to Be Bangladesh's Next High Commissioner to India
Bangladesh Foreign Secretary Asad Alam Siam is set to become High Commissioner to India, succeeding Riaz Hamidullah, who will move to Geneva.
Bangladesh's Foreign Secretary, Asad Alam Siam, is set to take up the post of High Commissioner to India, succeeding the incumbent, M Riaz Hamidullah, whose term in New Delhi ends next month.
The procedural groundwork for the transition has been completed, with the host country's approval — known in diplomatic practice as the agrement — already conveyed to Bangladesh. Under Article 4 of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, a proposed envoy requires the prior consent of the receiving state before a formal appointment is made.
Siam, a career diplomat who joined the Bangladesh Foreign Service in 1995, assumed the role of Foreign Secretary on 20 June 2025 and has completed just over a year in the position. He has previously served as Bangladesh's Ambassador to the United States and as the country's Permanent Representative to the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund.
He is currently in New York as part of the Bangladesh delegation accompanying Prime Minister Tarique Rahman at the United Nations General Assembly.
Hamidullah, meanwhile, will take up a new assignment next month as Bangladesh's Permanent Representative to the United Nations in Geneva.
In a related move, the government is scheduled to appoint Salahuddin Noman Chowdhury, currently Bangladesh's Permanent Representative to the UN in New York, as the next Foreign Secretary.
Siam's tenure in New Delhi is expected to involve the management of several pending bilateral matters, including preparations for a possible visit by Prime Minister Rahman to India in November. The renewal of the Ganga Waters treaty is among the other high-profile issues likely to feature during his stewardship, at a time when the two countries are seeking to move past strains that had set in during the interim government led by Muhammad Yunus.