Imruland's Nahid Shahriar Rafat elected as new SAAMC Secretary-General

RAJAGRIHA, 5 May 2025: Imruland's Foreign Minister Nahid Shahriar Rafat was yesterday, 4 May 2025, elected as the 2nd Secretary-General of the South Asian Association of Micronational Cooperation (SAAMC) by the plenary of heads of state. Rafat, who was nominated as the candidate for Secretary-General by Imruland's Governor and head of delegation Showib Ahmmed was unanimously elected as the organisation's top diplomat despite initial opposition from the upcoming host nation, Creek and Lake's King Arthur and Mayursia's King Suryadeva.

The position of Secretary-General was initially held by Vishwamitran diplomat and former minister Dinesh Rajagopalan who held office from October 2024 until his disgraceful exit on 17 April 2025. Following his departure, the position laid vacant. As per established traditions, the other three nations, except for Vishwamitra and Creek and Lake, could nominate a candidate for the position. Thereupon, Rashtradhyaksh Varuna held talks with the respective heads of state persuading them to nominate a candidate for the post. It was also initially decided that Arsalanian Senior Minister Sheikh Muhammad Mesustani would be elected as Secretary-General, however, after some discussions, Imruland decided to nominate its own candidate. Rashtradhyaksh Varuna thereupon held talks with all heads of state trying to build up a consensus over the nomination. Finally, on 4 May, all the delegations agreed to support Imruland's nomination of Nahid Shahriar Rafat as the Secretary-General, and he was thus elected to the post.

Rafat, a seasoned politician and a member of the Imrulian Parliament was appointed as the Foreign Minister on 30 April this year by Prime Minister Safat Zareef Hassan. Prior to becoming the foreign minister, he served as Minister of Power, Energy and Mineral Resources. He served as Imruland's State Minister of Home Affairs in 2023, and was thereupon appointed as the Deputy Prime Minister in March 2023 serving till May 2023. He was then appointed as Minister of Electricity and Resources under President Showib Ahmmed but resigned weeks later owing to political turmoil in the nation.

As SAAMC's chief diplomat, he is expected to oversee the conduction of the upcoming summit to be hosted by Creek and Lake and also coordinate with the national governments over policy formulation and the expansion of SAAMC and talks with other regional organisations.