On Monday 5 November 2005, Dr Iftekhar Ahmed Chowdhury (Honourable Advisor for Foreign Affairs, Bangladesh) will lead a discussion meeting on the topic of "Democracy in Bangladesh: Roadmap for the Future" from 12 noon - 1 pm.
Dr Iftekhar Ahmed Chowdhury was appointed the Honourable Advisor for Foreign Affairs (Foreign Minister) to the Caretaker Government of Bangladesh on 18 January 2007. He has also been given the portfolios of the Ministries of Expatriates’ Welfare and Chittagong Hill Tract Affairs.
Earlier, Dr Iftekhar Chowdhury had a distinguished career for nearly 38 years as a civil servant, and held many senior positions in the Government of Bangladesh. These appointments included the Ambassador to Qatar (1994-1996), Ambassador and Permanent Representative to the United Nations in Geneva (1996-2000), and Ambassador and Permanent Representative to the United Nations in New York (2001-2007). He has also been a Secretary to the Government, and has held concurrent accreditation to the Holy See (Vatican), Chile and Peru as Ambassador.
During his long stints in Geneva and New York, Dr Iftekhar Chowdhury has been President of the Conference on Disarmament, Chairman of the WTO Council on Trade Policy Review, Chairman of the United Nations Information Committee, and Vice President of the United Nations General Assembly. He has also been actively associated with the United Nations reform process as a Facilitator appointed by the President of the United Nations General Assembly.
Dr Iftekhar Chowdhury’s contributions as a global diplomat were recognised by the New York City Council, which named him as "one of the world's leading diplomatic leaders" in 2003. He has also been awarded a Knighthood of the Order of St Gregory the Great by the Pope.
This meeting will take place on the Fourth Floor at Arundel House, 13-15 Arundel Street, Temple Place, London WC2R 3DX. As places are limited, please respond as soon as possible.
If you would like to attend, please RSVP Kathleen James on E-mail:
james@iiss.org or Tel: 020 7395 9109
