India on Tuesday formally approved the appointment of Bangladesh foreign secretary Asad Alam Siam as the next high commissioner to New Delhi, people familiar with the matter said, against the backdrop of efforts by both sides to reset bilateral relations.
Siam, a career diplomat who joined the Bangladesh Foreign Service in 1995, will replace Riaz Hamidullah in New Delhi in the coming weeks. Hamidullah has been posted as Bangladesh’s new permanent representative to the UN in Geneva.
The agrément, or formal consent sought from India for Siam’s posting, was handed over to the foreign ministry in Dhaka on Tuesday afternoon, the people said on condition of anonymity. The completion of the process ended speculation in some quarters that the agrément had been held up by the Indian side.
Salahuddin Noman Chowdhury, Bangladesh’s former envoy to the UN in New York, is expected to be the next foreign secretary, the people said. The posting is being seen in some quarters as a reward for the role Chowdhury played in the election of Bangladesh foreign minister Khalilur Rahman as the President of the UN General Assembly.
Siam has served extensively in Bangladesh and abroad. He was Bangladesh’s ambassador to the US for less than a year before he was appointed foreign secretary in June 2025. During 2023-2024, he served as ambassador to Austria and as envoy to the Philippines during 2017-2021.
{{/usCountry}}Siam has served extensively in Bangladesh and abroad. He was Bangladesh’s ambassador to the US for less than a year before he was appointed foreign secretary in June 2025. During 2023-2024, he served as ambassador to Austria and as envoy to the Philippines during 2017-2021.
{{/usCountry}}He also served as Bangladesh’s first consul general in Milan, Italy, assistant high commissioner in Manchester, UK, and as a junior diplomat in Indonesia and Thailand. In addition to his overseas assignments, he served as chief of protocol, director general in the Europe and EU wing, and as director in the office of the foreign secretary.
Dhaka decided to send its most senior diplomat as the high commissioner to New Delhi following India’s move of sending Dinesh Trivedi, a political appointee and a former minister, as the envoy to Dhaka, the people said.
Siam will have to oversee efforts to reset bilateral relations, which plunged to an all-time low under the interim government led by Muhammad Yunus, which came to power after the Sheikh Hasina government was ousted during a student-led uprising in August 2024.
After the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) government led by Prime Minister Tarique Rahman came to power earlier this year, both sides have made efforts to repair the relationship, though Hasina’s presence in India has emerged as a key irritant for Dhaka. Siam will also have to prepare the grounds for a possible visit to India by Rahman against this fraught backdrop.
Rahman was extended invitations for both a bilateral visit and to attend the recent Brics Summit as the current chair of the Bismtec grouping. Bangladesh opted to skip the Brics Summit, and there is still no clarity on the bilateral visit, the people said.