Board formed for trade officers appointment

ISLAMABAD: The federal government has decided to appoint new trade officers abroad.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has formed an interview board for the appointment of new trade officers. Sources said Federal Minister for Commerce Jam Kamal Khan has been appointed as the chairman of the interview board.

Secretary Commerce, Foreign Secretary, Secretary Establishment Division, Secretary Investment Board and T&DAP will be members of the interview board.

The minister of commerce will have the authority to include an expert from the private sector in the board. The board is authorised to award up to 40 marks to the candidates.

The board will interview the candidates after written examination. The summary will be sent to the prime minister for approval. Trade officers will be appointed on the vacant posts in a year.

Trade officers will be appointed abroad on the posts of Grade-18 to 21. The officers will be appointed in Los Angeles, Beijing, Paris, Istanbul, Brussels, Dhaka, Dushanbe, Doha and Frankfurt.

Candidates will have to go through a written examination and interviews for appointment.

New trade officers will be appointed abroad for a period of three years. Policy guidelines for appointments have been approved. A 10 percent quota has been allocated for private sector and overseas Pakistanis in the appointments.