The National Assembly was informed on Friday that the bilateral trade between Pakistan and the US witnessed an increase of over 38.3 percent and touched 10.5 billion dollars during the last fiscal year.

Parliamentary Secretary for Commerce Syed Javed Ali Shah told the house during question hour that we are actively engaged with the US to get further market access for Pakistani agricultural goods including mangoes and dates. He was confident that our exports to the US will continue to grow in the coming years.

The Parliamentary Secretary said Pakistan is negotiating a Free Trade Agreement with the Gulf Council Cooperation to get market access for goods and services. He said Pakistan is also engaged with Saudi Arabia under the ambit of the Supreme Coordination Council to enhance exports to the Kingdom.

Responding to a calling attention notice, Minister for Parliamentary Affairs Murtaza Javed Abbasi said a new system is being introduced for Central Superior Service (CSS) Examination from January next year.

He said under the system approved by the federal cabinet, the candidates will have to appear in an entry test before the CSS examination. He said the upper age limit for appearing in the CSS examination is thirty years but the candidates belonging to Balochistan, Rural Sindh, FATA, Gilgit Baltistan and Azad Kashmir have been given relaxation of four years.

The Minister for Parliamentary Affairs laid before the house the Emigration Amendment Bill, 2022.

The House has now been adjourned to meet again on Monday at five pm.