Indian bags key post in UNFCCC

Ovais Sarmad to join UNFCCC

Ovais Sarmad.

An Indian national has been selected to a crucial post in the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres appointed Ovais Sarmad on Tuesday to join the UNFCCC as the Deputy Executive Secretary.

The appointment has been made after consultation with the Conference of Parties through its Bureau, said an official statement from the U.N. Information Centre in Delhi.

Seasoned bureaucrat

“Mr. Sarmad, who currently serves as Chief of Staff to the Director-General of the International Organization for Migration (IOM), brings to the position nearly 27 years of experience with IOM, where he worked in several policy and management areas to strengthen its operational effectiveness in close consultation with IOM member States. He was instrumental in the establishment of the organization’s Ethics and Conduct Office and was a key team member negotiating the agreement which brought IOM into the United Nations system,” said the press release.

The appointment is significant as UNFCCC aims to stabilise greenhouse emission and slow down climate change.

Born in 1960, Mr. Sarmad holds a bachelor’s degree in commerce from Osmania University in Hyderabad.