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.

Bangladesh’s first force commander in a UN mission was late Brigadier General Anisur Rahman, who served in Mozambique in 1993.

The following year, Major General Mohammad Abdus Salam took over the same responsibility in that country.

Other Bangladeshi officers who served as force commanders include Major General Fazle Elahi Akbar in Sudan, Lieutenant General Abu Tayeb Mohammad Zahirul Alam in Liberia, Major General Abdul Hafiz in Côte d’Ivoire and Western Sahara, and Major General Mohammad Humayun Kabir in Cyprus.

UNFICYP is one of the United Nations’ longest-running peacekeeping missions. It was established in 1964 to help prevent conflict between the Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot communities.

Its main responsibility is to maintain the UN buffer zone, known as the “Green Line”, and supervise the ceasefire lines on the island.

The mission has an authorised strength of 1,090 personnel. As of October 31, 2025, it consisted of 727 military personnel, 60 police officers and 148 civilian staff members.

Military personnel from 18 countries currently contribute to the mission, including Argentina, Austria, Bangladesh, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Ecuador, Ghana, Hungary, India, Mongolia, Pakistan, Paraguay, Russia, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia and the United Kingdom.

Born in Chattogram in 1971, Minhazul Alam was commissioned into the Infantry Corps from the Bangladesh Military Academy in December 1991 and received the prestigious “Sword of Honour” for his all-round performance.

During his military career, he led Operation Kuwait Reconstruction and commanded a brigade responsible for security related to the Rohingya camps. He also served as GOC of the 10th Infantry Division in Cox’s Bazar.

He previously served as Chief Instructor and Commandant of the Defence Services Command and Staff College and as Managing Director of Bangladesh Machine Tools Factory Limited.

Minhazul Alam also served as a sector commander in a UN peacekeeping mission in the Central African Republic.

He obtained a PhD in International Relations from Jahangirnagar University.