Libya unveils biometric passport
The Libyan government has officially unveiled the country’s new biometric passport, along with the completion of the national identity number system.
The new passport, based on the country’s new national identity number system has been anticipated in Libya and many on social media are excited to see the passport project’s completion.
Last week, Deputy Prime Minister Abdulsalam Al-Gadi announced that over six million identity numbers have been issued for Libyans, though they have yet to be distributed, as the Libya Herald reported.
Identity numbers are based on data from Civil Registry Offices and according to Naji Bazeena, head of the National Identity Number Department along with passports, other documents like drivers licenses and ID cards can also be issued based on the new national identity system.
The country’s new biometric passport is blue and features a gold crescent and star on the front. Under Muammar Gaddafi, the passport was green.
“The system will now be able to monitor all Libya’s border points, including taking a photograph of all foreigners arriving in Libya,” Nasseredine Ghulab, Head of the Technical and Coopreation Department at the Passports Department said in a separate Libya Herald report.
According to a SecureIDNews report from 2012, 93 out of 193 U.N member states were issuing e-passports at the time, with 21 additional countries ready to deploy the technology in the next 2 years. Libya is one of the latest to join the growing list.
