DILI, 09 march 2023 (TATOLI)- The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) withheld the printing of Timor-Leste passport books, saying that this was in the stage of discussion with the relevant companies.
Vice Minister of Justice, José Edmundo Caetano explained, ICAO (International Civil Aviation Organization) had recommended all countries including Timor-Leste to change the manual passport books for an electronic passport, which is of high technical quality according to international standards.
With regards to this, the Government is again discussing with the Vision Partners also as an official institution that cooperates with a company called Thales from Finland responsible for providing passport book printing in France.
“Currently we are discussing with the company to review the contract that must be signed because the price offered is very high where one passport costs $ 13.50,” explained the Deputy Minister of Justice at the Government Office, this Wednesday.
According to Caetano, the price offered by the company is not under international standards where all countries are only charged under $ 10.00.
“Therefore Government must immediately decide to finalize the contract referring to requests for passports which are increasing every day due to the mobility of Timor-Leste workers abroad and others, so the solution must be taken because this issue is urgent and necessary,”
Catano also hopes that there will be an alternative solution next week, while adding that, the government has no possibility to look for other companies since this company has been partners with the government for a long time.
In 2023 MoJ will only prepare 400 passport books for urgent situations while expecting the completion of printing another 80,000 new passport books according to ICAO recommendations.
The complete solution consisting of ICAO-compliant Passports and a suite of capabilities such as easy registration, biometric data capture, and more are features that work together to ensure increased security and protection of personal data
Journalist: José Belarmino De Sá
Editor: Nelia B.
