ISLAMABAD: A Pakistani diplomat is among the eight new members appointed by UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres to the Advisory Group of the Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF).

Pakistan`s Qazi Shaukat Fareed is currently the Permanent Observer for the Parliamentary Assembly of the Mediterranean to the United Nations and UN System.

The other new advisory group members are: Ms Beth Delaney, Ambassador and Deputy Permanent Representative of Australia to UN; Ms Sophie De Smedt, Ambassador and Permanent Representative of Belgium to UN; Ms Lauratuulia Lehtinen, Deputy Director General in the Department for Development Policy at Finland`s Ministry for Foreign Affairs; Ms Michelle Winthrop, Humanitarian Director at Irish Department of Foreign Affairs; Jongin Bae, Ambassador and Deputy Permanent Representative of the Republic of Korea to UN; Ryan Shrum, Senior Bureau Official for Disaster and Humanitarian Response at the US Department of State; and Dr Rurik Marsden, Head of Humanitarian Policy and Programmes in the Humanitarian Directorate of the UK`s Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office.-Amin Ahmed