Tonga biometric passport part of border enhancement project funded by Japan

Tonga is getting grant assistance of about 882 million yen (about US$6 million) from the Japanese government for the putting in place of a biometric passport system.

A signing ceremony for the exchange of notes on the project took place recently in the Tongan capital Nuku’alofa, according to an announcement from Japan’s Foreign Ministry.

Japan’s Ambassador to Tonga, Inagaki Hisao, signed on behalf of his country, while the Chief of Mission and Subregional Coordinator for the South Pacific at the International Organization for Migration (IOM), Solomon Kantha, did so for Tonga.

The initiative is dubbed “Project for Enhancing Border Management Capacity through the Introduction of the eMRP (Electronic Machine-Readable Passport).

Per the news release, the establishment of a biometric passport system is one aspect of the funding support aimed at “strengthening the border control capacity which is a security challenge of Tonga.”

It will also support the revision of the country’s laws and regulations related immigration control, develop human resources to strengthen the identification management system, and install appropriate e-passport issuing equipment.

Officials praised the move saying it marks a major step forward in the cooperation ties which Japan and Tonga enjoy since they established formal bilateral relations in 1970.

The support to Tonga, according to Japan, falls in line with the peace and security and technology and connectivity commitments which it took in July last year as part of its international cooperation priorities.

Japan is also supporting upgrades to the country’s Fua’amotu International Airport after a solicitation from the Tongan government in 2022, PMN reports. The airport upgrade support amounts to $17.7 million.

Tonga’s border management enhancement project is part of the country’s digital transformation agenda.

Mid this year, the government launched a digital ID dubbed TongaPass to facilitate access to government services as it looks to expand its digital public infrastructure.

Article Topics

biometric passport  |  biometrics  |  border security  |  digital ID  |  Japan  |  Tonga