United News of Bangladesh

Newly appointed Force Commander of the United Nations Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus (UNFICYP), Lieutenant General Mohammad Asadullah Minhazul Alam, met Prime Minister Tarique Rahman on Wednesday before leaving to assume his new assignment. The meeting was held at the Prime Minister’s Office at the Cabinet Division in the Bangladesh Secretariat in the afternoon, Deputy Press Secretary to the Prime Minister Hasan Shiplu said. He said they discussed Bangladesh’s contribution to UN peacekeeping operations, the professionalism of the country’s armed forces and ways to uphold Bangladesh’s reputation and prestige in the international arena. On April 9, Lieutenant General Minhazul Alam was appointed the 23rd Force Commander of the United Nations Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus (UNFICYP). He is the eighth Bangladeshi army officer to be appointed as a UN force commander. Minhazul is scheduled to leave for the United Nations headquarters in New York on Friday before assuming his new post. Before his appointment, Minhazul served as General Officer Commanding (GOC) of the Training and Doctrine Command of the Bangladesh Army. According to the Prime Minister’s Press Wing, a total of 10 military officers from different countries, including one Bangladeshi officer, are currently serving as force commanders in 10 UN peacekeeping missions around the world. Major General Mohammad Fakhrul Ahsan is now serving as Force Commander in Western Sahara. With Minhazul Alam’s joining in Cyprus, the number of Bangladeshi officers serving at the force commander level in UN missions will rise to two.