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Akufo-Addo introduces Ghana’s chip-embedded passport.

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Akufo-Addo introduces Ghana’s chip-embedded passport.

Ghana’s chip-embedded passport was introduced in Accra on Monday, December 2, by President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo.

The first copy of the chip-embedded passport was given to the president during the launch by Ms. Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey, the incoming Secretary-General of the Commonwealth and Minister of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration.

The chip-embedded passport project was initiated by the Foreign Ministry in 2016 in accordance with the provisions of Paragraph One of the Passports and Travel Certificates Act 1967 (NLCD 155).

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To bring Ghanaian passports into strict compliance with the rules of the International Civil Aviation Organisation and the rapidly changing global interoperability standards for biometric identification, the Ministry partnered with Biometric Travel Solutions Limited, a private Ghanaian company, to undertake the project through a Build, Operate, and Transfer (“BOT”) arrangement.

“Today is a day of pride and joy for our beloved country, Ghana,” President Akufo-Addo stated in his speech. As we introduce the e-Passport, a revolutionary project that will improve our global connections, I stand here feeling excited and hopeful.

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“This moment transcends both government policy and technology. It is a declaration of our identity and the path we are taking as a nation. The e-Passport is more than just a document for travel. It is a representation of our development, tenacity, and willingness to face the future with assurance.

According to the president, the Ghanaian passport has been a symbol of the people’s stories, hopes, and dreams for generations. It has also been a means of access to possibilities, enabling Ghanaians to pursue their family ties, careers, and education abroad.

According to him, Ghana’s passport has long served as a means of travel for its citizens, and its development from handwritten travel documents in the 1960s to typewritten machine-readable passports in the 1990s and biometric passports in 2010 shows how committed our country is to keeping up with international norms and trends.

Akufo-Addo introduces Ghana's chip-embedded passport.
Akufo-Addo introduces Ghana’s chip-embedded passport.

Each iteration, he added, had represented a step forward, reaffirming the government’s resolve to give Ghanaians safe and effective transportation.

“Today, we take a huge step forward with the e-Passport. This is about leading with innovation, establishing Ghana as a country dedicated to excellence, and improving the lives of all Ghanaians, he said, not just about catching up to the rest of the world.

“The culmination of this journey is the chip-embedded passport that we are launching today. It incorporates state-of-the-art technologies intended to improve document security, protect national identity, and satisfy the International Civil Aviation Organization’s exacting criteria.

The President claimed that the new passport was essentially a commitment to safeguard each Ghanaian’s identity and dignity and that it was nearly impossible to tamper with or falsify thanks to sophisticated biometric features that were safely integrated in a microchip.

He claimed that this invention was an important step in preventing illicit access to Ghana’s travel documents and reducing identity theft.

Beyond its practical and technological benefits, the new Ghana passport, according to resident Akufo-Addo, is a celebration of Ghanaians’ sense of national identity.

The President praised the remarkable leadership of Ms. Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey, the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration, who made the chip embedded passport initiative a reality. She was praised for her commitment to making Ghana’s passport administration a world-class system.

Ms. Ayorkor Botchwey stated that the government’s genuine commitment to efficiency, security, and conformity to international standards was demonstrated by the move from the biometric passport to the historic chip-embedded passport, which was more than just a technological advancement.

According to her, the present biometric passport has been a reliable tool for Ghanaians for more than ten years, but the rapid advancement of technology has made this change necessary.

“Ghana must continue to lead the way in growth and development as the gateway to Africa by incorporating innovative technological advancements in security documents while taking into consideration new international standards, threats, and growth prospects,” she stated.

“The introduction of the chip embedded passport in Ghana marks an elevation of the remarkable partnership between the two countries,” stated Mr. Tamás Fehér, the ambassador of Hungary to Ghana.

According to Biometric Travel Solutions Limited representative Dr. Kwaku Ofosu-Adarkwa, the company is happy to be working with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration to create the new chip-embedded passport, which satisfies all the requirements set forth by the International Civil Aviation Organisation.

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