Senior Secretary Masud Bin Momen bid farewell to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday (Sunday, September 1). He was given a formal send-off at an event held at the ministry. His contract-based appointment was initially set to end in December. However, Foreign Affairs Adviser Touhid Hossain told reporters yesterday, “Foreign Secretary Masud Bin Momen’s contract is being terminated.”

Masud Bin Momen is a member of the 1985 batch of the BCS Foreign Cadre. He assumed the role of Foreign Secretary in January 2020. On December 31, 2019, he became the 26th Foreign Secretary of Bangladesh. His service age limit was due to expire in December 2022, after which he was expected to take post-retirement leave. In November 2022, the Awami League government decided to extend his tenure by two years in the same position under a contractual arrangement. The Ministry of Public Administration issued a notification appointing him as Senior Secretary on a contract basis for two years.

According to sources within the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, as of 10 pm last night, the official notification regarding the cancellation of Masud Bin Momen’s contract had not been issued. However, it was expected to be completed by the end of the night. Ambassador Md. Jashim Uddin, who is currently stationed in China, is likely to be appointed as the next Foreign Secretary. In line with this, a formal order was issued on Saturday (August 31) instructing Jashim Uddin to return to Dhaka immediately.

Before his appointment as Foreign Secretary, Masud Bin Momen served as Bangladesh’s Ambassador and Permanent Representative to the United Nations in New York from 2015. Prior to that, he was Bangladesh’s Ambassador to Japan from 2012 to 2015. Additionally, he served as Ambassador to Italy and as the Permanent Representative to the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the World Food Programme (WFP), and the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) from 2008 to 2012.