Ambassador Khondker M Talha Elected President of UNESCO General Conference

Ambassador Khondker M Talha, the Permanent Delegate of Bangladesh to UNESCO, has been elected as the President of the 43rd General Conference of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). This historic win marks the first time a Bangladeshi national has secured this apex position in the country's 53 years of membership in the organization.

The election took place on October 7, 2025, during the 222nd Session of the UNESCO Executive Board. Ambassador Talha secured the presidency after defeating Ambassador Takehiro Kano of Japan with a narrow margin of 30-27 votes. Initially, the race for the prestigious post saw four contenders, including nominees from India and the Republic of Korea, both of whom had withdrawn their candidatures earlier in September.

Ambassador Talha will succeed Ambassador Simona Mirela Miculescu of Romania and will preside over the upcoming 43rd General Conference, which will be held in Samarkand, Uzbekistan, from October 30 to November 13, 2025. This session is notable as it will be the first time the General Conference is held outside of UNESCO's Paris headquarters since 1985.

Ambassador Talha is a senior career diplomat, a member of the 15th batch of the Bangladesh Foreign Service, with an experience spanning over three decades.

Current Assignments: He was appointed Ambassador to France, Monaco, and Côte d'Ivoire, as well as Permanent Delegate to UNESCO, in September 2021.

Education: He holds a Master's degree in Economics and an MBA from the University of Dhaka, and another Master's degree in Foreign Affairs and Trade from Monash University, Melbourne.

Previous Roles: His distinguished diplomatic career includes overseas postings at important Bangladesh Missions in New York (where he was elected Vice-Chair of the UN Committee on Population and Development), Tehran, Geneva (where he was Rapporteur of the 99th Council of IOM), and as Deputy High Commissioner to London. At the Ministry of Foreign Affairs headquarters, he served as Chief of Protocol and Director General for the East Asia and Pacific Wing.

Ambassador Talha's election is seen as a culmination of his successful tenure at UNESCO. During his leadership, Bangladesh has achieved numerous diplomatic victories, including:

Beyond these achievements, Ambassador Talha has been a prominent figure in policy discussions, having been consecutively elected for two terms as a Sherpa of the High-Level Steering Committee for SDG4 implementation (Global Education Agenda). He is credited with negotiating innovative financing solutions for Least Developed Countries (LDCs) and Lower Middle-Income Countries to address the global funding gap in SDG4 implementation. He also chaired the Intergovernmental Committee on Diversity of Cultural Expressions (2005 Convention) and the Committee for Non-Governmental Partners (NGP), in addition to the Asia Pacific Group at UNESCO.

In a quick response following the election, Ambassador Talha expressed deep gratitude to the Hon’ble Chief Adviser of the Government of Bangladesh and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for their trust. He also extended his thanks to the Education Adviser, Chowdhury Rafiqul Abrar, and the Cultural Adviser, Mostafa Sarwar Farooki, for their support.

Ambassador Talha viewed the victory as a testament to the global community's recognition of Bangladesh’s sustained and active diplomatic engagement, particularly within multilateral forums. He thanked the members of the Executive Board for their confidence and, marking this as a historic national achievement, pledged to work relentlessly to uphold the mandate of UNESCO during a critical time for multilateralism. He dedicated his victory to the people of Bangladesh both at home and abroad.