Former High Commissioner of Bangladesh to India Syed Muazzem Ali died in Dhaka on Monday morning due to pneumonia and successive cardiac arrest.
He was 75 years old.
Ali died while undergoing treatment at the Combined Military Hospital in Dhaka.
Syed Ali left New Delhi on December 19 on the successful completion of his tenure of five years as the High Commissioner of Bangladesh to India.
The High Commission of Bangladesh in New Delhi will open a condolence book from December 31, 2019, to January 2, 2020, in the office of the Bangladesh High Commission Chancery at S Radhakrishnan Marg, Chanakypuri in New Delhi.
Ali is considered to be one of the tallest contemporary diplomats of his country.
According to media reports, Ali was admitted to the Combined Military Hospital in Dhaka on December 24 where he was diagnosed with pneumonia.
He was popular diplomat in India’s national capital.
His farewell event, which was held on December 10, was attended by union external affairs minister S. Jaishankar.
Jaishankar in his speech described Ali as an “exceptional envoy”.
Jaishankar noted that it was during Ali’s stint that Dhaka-Delhi ties underwent “transformation”.
Union minister Jaishankar on Monday expressed shock at the sudden passing away of Ali.
Jaishankar tweeted: “Deeply shocked to learn of the passing away of former High Commissioner Syed Muazzem Ali. He was a good friend and a strong partner for so many of us. Our thoughts are with Tuhfa and family.”
Deeply shocked to learn of the passing away of former High Commissioner Syed Muazzem Ali. He was a good friend and a strong partner for so many of us. Our thoughts are with Tuhfa and family.
— Dr. S. Jaishankar (@DrSJaishankar) December 30, 2019
Indian diplomat, now exploring the Land of Morning Calm – South Korea, Sripriya Ranganathan in her condolence message said Ali’s demise “is a big loss”.
“High Commissioner Ali was an amazing diplomat and fine human being. I had the privilege of working closely with him from 2014-18, when i was looking after our relations with Bangladesh. My thoughts prayers are with his wife and family,” she tweeted.
Ali was posted in 2014 as the envoy to New Delhi and he coordinated bilateral ties with the government of India, leading to the signing of the Land Boundary Agreement during the Dhaka visit by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in June 2015 with his Bangladeshi counterpart Shiekh Hasina.