Gemalto provides end-to-end ePassport solution for the Sultanate of Oman

Gemalto (Euronext NL0000400653 GTO), the world leader in digital security, 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 in line with Oman's goal to provide enhanced services and protection to its citizens, using the latest digital security technologies.

The turnkey solution encompasses Gemalto's ICAO-compliant* Sealys ePassport documents, and a full Coesys solution suite to enrol citizens, and personalise and issue secure documents. The multi-year contract also covers training, support and maintenance services.

Major Royal Oman Police offices 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 to meet the uppermost in security and privacy requirements. The comprehensive solution will facilitate Omani travellers' immigration control, and speed up the passport application and document issuance process.

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

"Oman has been a pioneer in implementing advanced e-government solutions, being the first country in the GCC to issue its citizens with Gemalto electronic ID cards in 2002," said Hisham Surakhi, Vice-President for Government Programmes in the Middle East at Gemalto. "Now Oman is going one step further, complementing its electronic secure documents portfolio to make international travel simpler for its citizens, setting the pace in the region."

In the public sector, Gemalto is contributing to more than 80 government programmes worldwide, supporting, for example, ePassport initiatives in C^ote d'Ivoire, Denmark, Estonia, France, Korea, Norway, Malta, Morocco, Portugal, Singapore, Sweden and the United States of America.

* The International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) sets up security and safety specifications for e-travel documents.