Libyan firm wins Niger biometric passport, national ID contract

Libyan biometrics solutions provider Al Itissan Al-Jadeed has been contracted to oversee an upgrade of the passport and national ID systems of the Republic of Niger.

Documents finalizing the Public Private Partnership (PPP) framework agreement were signed June 27 in the Nigerien capital, Niamey, by representatives of both entities.

A post on the Niger government’s X page disclosed that two memorandums of understanding (MoUs) were signed between the Minister of State, Minister of Interior, Public Security and Territorial Administration, Major General Mohamed Toumba on the side of Niger, and the Director of the Libyan company, Wissal Samtali.

The post mentions that the first memorandum has to do with the financing, construction, and maintenance of a biometric passport system, while the second concerns an upgrade of the country’s national ID architecture by introducing a secure national digital ID.

The passport, the partners say, will be produced using polycarbonate materials embedded with biometric chips. The contractor is also expected to build a system for the digital archiving of records.

Niger’s government states that the move aims to put in place a system that will streamline the delivery of passports and national digital ID cards, and also bring the country up to speed with others that already have modern and expedient systems in delivering these important identity documents.

Samtali said after the signing of the MoU that the contract will provide a highly secure passport and efficiency in identity verification, aligning with broader future digital government plans of the country, as quoted by Le 360 Afrique.

The move comes months after Niger and two other Sahel countries (Burkina Faso and Mali), which are all currently under military rule, launched a common passport following their withdraw from the Economic Community of West Arican States (ECOWAS).

Grouped under the banner of the Confederation of Sahel States (AES), the three nations launched their regional travel document in January, putting an end to their belonging to the ECOWAS regional ID and passport arrangement.

The withdraw notwithstanding, the bloc’s leaders said the other 12 countries will continue to accept passports from citizens of the three nations who still hold the ECOWAS passport.

Article Topics

Africa  |  Al Itissan Al-Jadeed  |  biometric passport  |  digital identity  |  government purchasing  |  Libya  |  national ID  |  Niger  |  public-private partnerships  |  Sahel