Foreign Secretary Masud Bin Momen began his post-retirement leave (PRL) on Sunday, months before his contractual term was set to end in December.
His decision comes amid speculation that the interim administration will cancel his contractual appointment extended by the previous Awami League government on December 6, 2022.
The government has not yet issued any notification in this regard.
Momen, an officer of Bangladesh Civil Service (Foreign Affairs) 1985 Batch, joined as Foreign Secretary on December 31, 2019.
He observed his last working day on Sunday after which the Ministry of Foreign Affairs organized a farewell event in the afternoon.
Foreign Affairs Advisor Md Touhid Hossain and other senior officials of the ministry were present, a senior official told Dhaka Tribune.
A photo shows Adviser Hossain handing over a crest to Momen in the farewell event.
Md Jashim Uddin, Bangladesh ambassador to China, has been tipped to be the next Foreign Secretary as the interim government on August 19 asked him to return to Dhaka leaving his current responsibilities soon. He joined the foreign service in April 1994.
Foreign Secretary Momen had been Bangladesh’s Ambassador and Permanent Representative to the United Nations since 2015.
Before that, he served as Bangladesh’s Ambassador to Japan from 2012 to 2015.
He also served as Ambassador to Italy and Permanent Representative to the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), World Food Program (WFP) and International Fund for Agricultural Development from 2008 to 2012.
He was Deputy High Commissioner at the Bangladesh High Commission in New Delhi, India, from 2004 to 2006. He served as Director of Poverty Alleviation at SAARC Secretariat in Kathmandu, Nepal, from 2001 to 2004.
Following its assumption of office on August 8, the interim government has also cancelled the contractual appointments of all ambassadors.
