Tareq Md Ariful Islam, the serving Bangladesh Envoy to Sri Lanka, has been appointed as the new permanent representative of Bangladesh to the United Nations (UN) Offices in Geneva.

He will succeed Ambassador Mohammad Sufiur Rahman in this capacity, according to a press release from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Tareq, a career diplomat who belongs to the 17th batch of the Bangladesh Civil Service (Foreign Affairs) Cadre, joined the service in 1998.

Prior to assuming his current position in November 2020, he served as the Deputy Permanent Representative in the Bangladesh Permanent Mission to the United Nations in New York.

Regarding his other assignments abroad, he had another stint (from 2005 to 2009) in the New York Permanent Mission as First Secretary initially, and at the later part as Counsellor.

Later, he also served as Counsellor in the Bangladesh Deputy High Commission in Kolkata, India, from 2009 to 2012.

At the headquarters, he served as Director General (South Asia Wing) and before that in various other capacities, including as Director (South Asia Wing), Director (Foreign Minister’s Office) as well as in the Personnel Wing and the Foreign Secretary’s Office.

Tareq obtained a Master of Diplomacy and Trade degree from the Monash University, Australia and a Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering from the Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET).

He takes special interest in the areas of international peace and security, regional cooperation, human rights and migration.

Tareq is married to Aliya Najma Nur and the couple is blessed with two daughters.