Manama: Mahmood Rafique, Editor: The Kingdom of Bahrain has achieved yet another milestone by announcing the launch one of the world’s safest passports with embedded security and panoramic features of the Kingdom.
The launching ceremony held at the Police Officers Club led by His Excellency Shaikh Rashid bin Abdulla Al Khalifa Minister of Interior Kingdom of Bahrain and attended by the Ministers, top ranking officials and the representative of the media.
In line with Per the Royal directives of His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa to ensure the provision of latest and integrated e-services to citizens and the follow-up of His Royal Highness Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, the Crown Prince and Prime Minister, His Excellency Interior Minister General Shaikh Rashid bin Abdullah Al Khalifa, officially launched the e-passport of the Kingdom of Bahrain on Sunday.
Present were Dr Abdullatif bin Rashid Alzayani, Foreign Minister, Shaikh Salman bin Khalifa Al Khalifa, Minister of Financial and National Economy, Mohammed Thamer Al Kaabi, Minister of Transportation and Telecommunication, Lt. General Tariq Al Hassan, Chief of Public Security, Governors, Interior Ministry Undersecretary, and senior officials.
HE Interior Minister expressed gratitude for the milestone, highlighting that the project reflects the capabilities and determination of the national workforce to contribute to enhancing performance and achieving excellence in services. He said that launching the e-passport is a turning point in facilitating travel procedures for citizens.
He highlighted the timeline for achieving the Cabinet’s initiatives to develop the services of Nationality, Passports and Residence Affairs (NPRA) as part of the economic recovery plan, including the electronic passport, confirming that the implementation process is moving forward at a steady pace.
HE Interior Minister thanked and appreciated the Interior Ministry Undersecretary, NPRA team and the concerned e-passport committee for their role and efforts to achieve this milestone that would contribute to facilitating the movements of citizens. He said that the e-passport is an achievement that could improve the classification of the passport of the Kingdom of Bahrain globally due to its high quality, characteristics, and security specifications, which adhere to accuracy and all international standards in this regard, in addition to helping to obtain visas and get visa exemption from various countries of the world.
HE Shaikh Hisham bin Abdulrahman Al Khalifa NPRA Undersecretary, in his remarks applauded the support and follow-up of HE Interior Minister from the very start of the project.
He said that he was dedicated to making the project an NPRA priority. He continued that HE Interior Minister followed up on the project’s progress and was aware of all its details for directives and guidance, leading to a development of a remarkable passport containing not only security features as well as a presenting the rich history and achievements of the Kingdom.
HE Shaikh Hisham, who spearheaded the committee, mandated conceiving, developing, and launching the ePassport containing world’s latest security features making its counterfeiting almost impossible.
He explained that this passport aims to facilitate the travel experience for citizens by facilitating the process of travelling and transiting at airports because it contains an electronic chip that includes all vital data of its holder. He pointed out that with the directives of HE Interior Minister to implement the project, many views and ideas have been developed, leading to realising the importance of issuing a passport that reflects the ancient Bahraini civilisation, and highlights the current development and the vision of its leadership. He also highlighted the importance of the passport for containing the most prominent modern security technologies.
The ceremony included a presentation on the project’s phases, from the designing stages to the final design, the security, technical and beauty characteristics that reflect Bahrain through artistic paintings that tell the story of the past, present and bright future.
HE Interior Minister honoured the project’s committee members, including representatives from the Foreign Ministry, Transportation and Telecommunication Ministry, Information and e-Government Authority and the NPRA. He thanked them for their efforts and wished them all the best in serving the nation.
HE Interior Ministry also toured an exhibition the NPRA organised on the sideline of the ceremony on some historical documents and images about the project’s progress.
He hailed the advanced items showcased at the exhibition, including the advanced technology that contributed to reaching out to the current high-tech e-passport.
