Mr. Liaquat Ali Choudhury, newly appointed High Commissioner of the People's Republic of Bangladesh today presented his credentials to the President of India Dr. A P J Abdul Kalam at the Rashtrapati Bhaban.

Envoys of six other countries including South Africa, Uruguay, and Morocco also presented their letters of credence during today's ceremony.

While handing over his letter of credence Mr. Liaquat Ali Choudhury conveyed the greetings and good wishes of President Dr. Iajuddin Ahmed and Prime Minister Begum Khaleda Zia to the President of India and to the Government and people of India.

President Dr. A P J Abdul Kalam said that he was happy to welcome the new High Commissioner of the friendly neighbouring country of Bangladesh. President Abdul Kalam extended through the High Commissioner his greetings to Bangladesh President Dr. Iajuddin Ahmed and Prime Minister Khaleda Zia. The Indian President hoped that bilateral cooperation between the two neighbours, especially economic cooperation would be further strengthened in the coming years. The President and the High Commissioner also discussed about the possibilities of greater cooperation in the field of science and technology between the two countries. The Bangladesh High Commissioner, on his part, stressed the keen interest of the people and the government of Bangladesh to deeper and enrich the Bangladesh-India bilateral relations.

Mr. Liaquat Ali Choudhury, belonging to the Bangladesh Foreign Service, has a wide and extensive experience as a career diplomat. During his long career, he served in several important positions both at home and abroad. At the Headquarters, he served as Director General in various desks of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs including South Asia, United Nations and Multilateral Organisations Divisions. He served abroad in Bangladesh Permanent Missions to the United Nations in New York, Permanent Mission of Bangladesh to the UN Offices in Geneva, and Bangladesh High Commission in New Delhi. His services were seconded to the SAARC Secretariat by Bangladesh from 1995-1999. His immediate past position was as Bangladesh Ambassador to The Netherlands. Mr. Choudhury also represented Bangladesh in many international and regional conferences as a member of Bangladesh delegation. He was promoted by the Bangladesh Government to the rank of Secretary and Grade A Ambassador, earlier this year.

Mr. Choudhury had his education at the Dhaka University and in Paris. He was a student of Economics and he also studied International relations and International Law. He is married to Homaira Choudhury. They have a son and a daughter.