Celebrating excellence, creativity and impact, Diplomatic Correspondents Association, Bangladesh (DCAB) on Sunday presented the ‘DCAB Media Award-2025’ to three of its members in recognition of their contributions to diplomatic reporting and to inspire further professional development.

Foreign Secretary Asad Alam Siam, along with Jury Board Chief and Dhaka Tribune Editor Reaz Ahmad, conferred the awards in three categories - print, television and online.

They expressed optimism that DCAB members would continue to play a constructive role in foreign policy discourse through analytical and objective reporting.

The Foreign Secretary also honoured four DCAB writers: Masud Karim (former president), Views Bangladesh Editor Rased Mehedi, Israt Zahan Urmi of DBC News, and Nahid Hossain of Alap for their recent books.

DCAB President AKM Moinuddin and General Secretary Md Arifuzzaman Mamun also addressed the ceremony, which was held at the Foreign Service Academy.

Md Mahfuzur Rahman (Mahfuz Mishu) of Jamuna Television, Md Arfizzaman Manun of Daily Amader Shomoy, and Apurba Kumar PK of Sarabangla.net received awards in the television, print and online categories, respectively.

DCAB introduced the DCAB Media Award in 2024, making this year’s event its second edition.

Speaking as the chief guest, the Foreign Secretary said the role of the media, particularly reporters covering foreign affairs, has become more important than ever as the global economy faces multidimensional challenges.

He said the current global landscape is complex and rapidly evolving, and hoped that diplomatic journalists would continue to play a constructive role and contributions to the practice of foreign policy in addressing contemporary geopolitical challenges.

Praising DCAB’s initiative, he expressed hope that such recognition would further inspire diplomatic reporters.

Editor Reaz Ahmad said diplomatic journalism in Bangladesh differs from general current affairs reporting and noted that DCAB members are producing high-quality journalism.

Highlighting the importance of safeguarding Bangladesh’s national interests, he said journalists on the diplomatic beat adhere to a “Bangladesh First” policy.

He also said in terms of quality and professionalism, diplomatic journalists in Bangladesh are ahead of their counterparts in neighboring countries.

Jury Board Chief Reaz Ahmad and jury board member Elias Khan, Executive Editor of Daily Times of Bangladesh, said reports were evaluated based on context, novelty and importance of the topic, use of information and sources, language and presentation style, logical reasoning and structure, and the extent of original research conducted by the reporters.