Bangladesh at Presidency of WFP’s Executive Board

There have been many exciting and challenging moments during my diplomatic journey, spanning nine foreign assignments abroad and at headquarters in Dhaka. During my stint as Ambassador to Italy and Permanent Representative to the Rome-based FAO, IFAD and WFP (2020-2023), I had the privilege of serving as the elected President of the Executive Board (2022) of the World Food Programme (WFP), the world’s largest humanitarian organisation. Following vigorous diplomatic persuasion, the 36-member Executive Board of the Rome-based WFP unanimously elected Bangladesh, for the first time ever, as President of the Board for the year 2022 at its First Regular Session (28 February-02 March 2022). I, as the Permanent Representative of Bangladesh to WFP, assumed the charge as President by acclamation. With the generous support of the government of Bangladesh, WFP leadership and Secretariat, fellow Permanent Representatives, and others, I successfully concluded the one-year Presidency of the Executive Board of the WFP.

Bangladesh took over the role of President of the WFP at a time when the post-COVID economic downturn, conflicts in different parts of the world, and the negative impacts of climate change had intensified hunger and food crises worldwide. As President of the Executive Board of the WFP, I had the privilege of leading the intergovernmental oversight, policy direction and supervision of WFP’s activities. Always on the lookout for consensus and transparency, I remained engaged with all key stakeholders through dialogue and negotiations to promote the organisation’s consensus-based culture. My role and extensive engagement with its policy interventions revealed to me a world that is far from perfect, and WFP stands at the heart of efforts to make this world a better place.

In 2022, WFP served as the coordinating agency among the Rome-based UN agencies (FAO, IFAD, and WFP), and I, in my capacity as President, had the privilege of facilitating the planning of meetings among the governing body heads of these agencies throughout the year. I also led a WFP field visit to Mozambique in 2022, comprising six other members of the Executive Board. This provided an excellent opportunity for board members to see firsthand the impactful work WFP is doing to support emergency needs while promoting resilience. I further had the opportunity to facilitate an interactive discussion segment among the presidents of the executive boards of UNDP/UNFPA/UNOPS, UNICEF, UN-Women, and WFP, along with the principals/deputies of six UN agencies and the executive board members. This event, held on 3 June 2022 at the UN Headquarters in New York, was a rare moment of Bangladesh’s visibility in multilateral diplomacy. Out of the four UN Executive Board Presidents on the podium, two were from Bangladesh. Anoth

Upon completion of my term, I handed over the charge to the next president, Artur Pollok, Ambassador and Permanent Representative of Poland, on 27 March 2023. During the ceremony, I thanked the Member States, WFP leadership, and the Secretariat for their generous support. I am also grateful to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Dhaka, and the External Resources Division (ERD), Ministry of Finance, among others, for their all-out support.

During my ambassadorial assignment in Rome, I was successful in launching the Bangladesh Room (a meeting and facilitation room) at the headquarters of the FAO (Food and Agriculture Organization). It was jointly inaugurated by the then Prime Minister of Bangladesh and the Director-General of the FAO in July 2023. I am pleased to note that this facility has been useful in facilitating meetings of delegates and, more importantly, that its legacy continues to make the name of Bangladesh visible, among a few other countries, at the headquarters of the FAO, one of the largest specialised agencies of the UN.

My assumption of the presidency of the executive board of the WFP was a moment of pride, both professionally and personally. My role as president was challenging, but I feel it was a happy and deeply fulfilling experience.

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The writer served as Bangladesh Envoy to Malaysia, Italy, Serbia, Montenegro and Nigeria and as the President of the Executive Board (2022) of the World Food Programme, WFP, Rome