Lt. Gen. Minhajul Alam meets the Prime Minister

Prime Minister Tarique Rahman met Lieutenant General Mohammad Asadullah Minhazul Alam on Wednesday ahead of his departure to assume command of a United Nations peacekeeping mission in Cyprus.

The meeting took place at the Prime Minister’s Office in the Bangladesh Secretariat, where discussions focused on Bangladesh’s contributions to UN peacekeeping operations, the professionalism of its armed forces, and the country’s growing international reputation.

Prime Minister’s Defence Adviser Brigadier General (Retd.) AKM Shamsul Islam was also present during the meeting.

According to the Prime Minister’s Press Wing, Lt Gen Minhazul Alam will leave Dhaka on June 5 for the United Nations Headquarters in New York to complete official formalities before taking charge as the 23rd Force Commander of the United Nations Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus (UNFICYP).

With this appointment, Minhazul Alam becomes the eighth Bangladeshi military officer to serve as a UN Force Commander. Seven Bangladeshi officers have previously held similar leadership roles in various peacekeeping missions around the world.

Currently, Major General Md Fakhrul Ahsan is serving as Force Commander of the UN mission in Western Sahara. Following Minhazul Alam’s appointment, Bangladesh will have two serving Force Commanders leading separate UN peacekeeping missions simultaneously, a distinction regarded as a significant achievement for the country.

Bangladesh has long been recognized as one of the world’s leading contributors to UN peacekeeping operations. Officials believe Minhazul Alam’s new appointment further strengthens the country's reputation within the international peacekeeping community.

Born in Chattogram in 1971, Minhazul Alam was commissioned into the Infantry Corps from the Bangladesh Military Academy in 1991 and received the prestigious “Sword of Honour” for his outstanding performance.

Throughout his military career, he has led Operation Kuwait Reconstruction, played a key role in security management at the Rohingya refugee camps, and served as a Sector Commander in a UN peacekeeping mission in the Central African region.

He has also held several prestigious positions, including Commandant and Chief Instructor of the Defence Services Command and Staff College, Managing Director of Bangladesh Machine Tools Factory Limited, and General Officer Commanding (GOC) of the Army’s Training and Doctrine Command. He also served as GOC of the 10th Infantry Division in Cox’s Bazar.

A PhD holder in International Relations from Jahangirnagar University, Lt Gen Minhazul Alam is now set to represent Bangladesh at one of the UN’s longest-running peacekeeping missions, further enhancing the country’s standing on the global stage.