Gemalto to provide ePassport solution to Royal Oman Police

Gemalto has announced it will provide the Royal Oman Police with an end-to-end electronic passport solution for the Sultanate.

Applicants will be issued with state-of-the-art secure travel documents encompassing Gemalto’s ICAO compliant Sealys ePassport documents and a full Coesys biometric solution suite to enroll citizens. This multi-year contract, for an undisclosed amount, also covers training, support and maintenance.

Gemalto provides digital security solutions across a wide array of technologies, including biometrics.

“With this project we aim at offering security, flexibility and convenience to our citizens,” Major General Dr. Sulaiman Al-Harthy, of the Royal Oman Police said. “Gemalto will support the smooth integration of the solution with the existing national registry system for eID cards. Gemalto has valuable experience in implementing ePassport programs globally and will provide us with local support through their offices in the Sultanate.”

Under the new program, police stations will be equipped with fixed and mobile stations to register ePassport applicants with personal information and biometric data. Each ePassport will feature secure eTravel embedded software and a contactless microprocessor which will contain the holder’s digital fingerprints and photograph for verification.

According to the company, Oman was the first country in the Gulf Cooperation Council to issue its citizens Gemalto electronic ID cards in 2002. Additionally, the company’s solutions are being used in more than 80 government programs worldwide.

Reported previously in BiometricUpdate.com, Gemalto’s Vice President for Government Affairs, Neville Pattinson was recently appointed vice chair for the Smart Card Alliance Identity Council.

Many countries today have either already introduced a biometric ePassport, or are looking to do so presently. In Ghana, technical problems and funding gaps, along with high demand have made issuance complex, though the government says change will come.

Article Topics

biometrics  |  epassport  |  facial recognition  |  fingerprint  |  government  |  verification