A.B.M. Sarwer-E-Alom Sarker

Assistant Press Secretary to Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, Bangladesh since 13th February 2019. Now, I am on the way to complete my nine years journey in Bangladesh Civil Service. I joined as a member of the Bangladesh Foreign Service on 15th January 2013. Since then, I have worked in various capacities- in Administration, West and Central Asia, and Europe wing with significant experience in West Asian political dynamics at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Dhaka. During my early years in civil service, I had to attend two (02) home-based compulsory training- (i) "57th Foundation Training Course" and (ii) "20th Specialized Diplomatic Training Course". In addition, I attended four (04) diplomatic courses abroad- (i) "Seminar for Young Diplomats from Bangladesh" in the Foreign Affairs University, Beijing, China, (ii) "Diplomacy and Global Affairs" in Bandaranaike International Diplomatic Training Institute (BIDTI), Colombo, Sri Lanka, (iii) "62nd Professional Course for Foreign Diplomats", in Foreign Service Institute, New Delhi, India, (iv) "4th Face to Face Training" in Clingendael, Netherlands. Before joining civil service, I had seven years of experience in school teaching, including few research publications. To this end, I am the author of three (03) publications in the field of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology- (i) the First author of "Reduced susceptibility to fluoroquinolone and molecular analysis of ciprofloxacin resistance in Salmonella Typhi in Bangladesh," published in Dhaka University Journal of Biological Science 19(2):137‐144-July 2010, (ii) Co-author of "Biochemical and Immunological studies of Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS) patients of Bangladesh" published in Bangladesh Journal of Medical Science 15:99-102-January 2009, and (iii) Co-author of "Antimicrobial and cytotoxic activities of Avicennia officinalis" published in Dhaka University Journal of Biological Science 17(02):87-94-July 2008. In undergrad, my major was Biochemistry and Molecular Biology. I also did a Master of Science in the same major. Later, after joining in civil service, I completed another degree- Master of Economics (M.Econ) in Development Economics in Dhaka School of Economics under the University of Dhaka. I also do explore networking and social work intermittently. As a result, I was elected as Social Welfare Secretary of "Bangladesh Foreign Service Association (BFSA) in June 2017 and re-elected for the next term in November 2020 through the electronic voting system. Besides, I maintain a good network, particularly with the young generation living in the home district Kurigarm, political leaders/fellows, civil society, and civil servants other than Foreign Service. Back in my student life, I took part in many student rights movements. To this end, I was an active member of the Bangladesh Chhatra (Student) League at the University of Dhaka, where I took part in many movements against the abuse, assault, and violation of students' rights. Now, I try to write articles as a freelancer in parallel with my job description in the Prime Minister's Office of Bangladesh.