By Roy Lie Atjam.
Former ambassador of Bangladesh to the Netherlands, H.E. Sheikh Mohammed Belal has taken up his new assignment in Amsterdam.
In a statement made by the Common Fund for Commodities (CFC) on 8 April 2020, announced that Sheikh Belal has been appointed as Managing Director of the CFC.
We take this opportunity to wish Ambassador Belal every success in his new career and look forward to a continued pleasant working relationship with him.
On 8 April 2020 Ambassador Sheikh Mohammed Belal assumed his duties as the Managing Director of the Common Fund for Commodities. Ambassador Belal signed his contract in front of the Chairperson of Governing Council, Mr. Alejandro Mitri (Argentina) en marge of the 69th Executive Board Meeting of the Common Fund for Commodities (CFC).
After assuming his duties, Ambassador Belal addressed the Executive Board and assured his full commitment to do the job of the Fund for enabling, what he described as, better livelihood to the forgotten people and better bridging between the developed and developing world. Ambassador Belal also sought enhanced cooperation from all member states to help mitigate the effects of COVID-19.
Ambassador Belal was appointed as new Managing Director of the CFC on December 04, 2019 during the 31st Governing Council Meeting, in The Hague. He was elected by consensus from a pool of six candidates for the post of Managing Director of the CFC for the term ending on 31 December 2023.
Before assuming his position at the CFC, H.E. Sheikh Mohammed Belal served as Ambassador of Bangladesh to the Kingdom of the Netherlands with concurrent accreditations to the Republic of Croatia, and Bosnia and Herzegovina from March 2014 to February 2020. Ambassador Belal is also a member of the Board of Directors of the Trust Fund for Victims of the International Criminal Court since December 2018. Furthermore, the Bureau of the Assembly of States Parties appointed Ambassador Belal as “Facilitator for the Trust Fund of Victims” for the term 2015-2016.
H.E. Sheikh Mohammed Belal also served as the Permanent Representative of Bangladesh to the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW). During his term in the OPCW, Ambassador Belal served in different capacities including his role as Chairperson of the Executive Council of the OPCW. He served in Bangladesh Missions in Washington, Canberra, Kuala Lumpur and Tashkent in different capacities.
H.E. Sheikh Mohammed Belal obtained a Master’s in Public Administration from Harvard University in the USA, a Master’s in International Relations and Trade from Monash University in Australia and also did his graduation in Forestry at Chittagong University in Bangladesh.
Ambassador Belal is married to Dr. Dilruba Nasrin. They are blessed with two children and a grandson.
