Bangladesh appoints M Shahidul Islam its new ambassador to US

The government has appointed M Shahidul Islam as the new ambassador to the United States.

Currently serving as the secretary general of BIMSTEC, Shahidul was previously the deputy chief of Mission in the Embassy of Bangladesh in Washington DC.

The foreign ministry announced his appointment in a media statement on Thursday.

Shahidul will replace Mohammad Ziauddin who took office in the US in June 2014.

The government extended Ziauddin’s term by one year in July, 2019 after he had served five years in two stints.

Shahidul, who has been performing duties as the secretary general of BIMSTEC since September 2017, served as deputy chief of Mission at Bangladesh Embassy in Washington DC from

According to the statement, his foreign service career began with the 1985 batch of Bangladesh Civil Service (BCS) as Foreign Affairs cadre.

In 2012 during his time in Bangladesh Embassy in Paris, he was the representative for UNESCO.

Prior to his present assignment, he served as ambassador to South Korea and France. He also served in Bangladesh mission in Kolkata from 1992-94.

He was the director general of the foreign ministry’s Americas, Pacific and Counter-Terrorism Wing and Europe wing.

He did master’s in international relations from Dhaka University and post-graduation from International Institute of Public Administration.