Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan on Sunday inaugurated the e-passport program at the Bangladesh Embassy in Berlin, Germany. At the same time, he said, e-passport activities will be started in all embassies in phases.
He added that about 1.5 million applications for e-passports have already been submitted. About 1 million e-passports have been distributed.
Director General of the Department of Immigration and Passports Major General Mohammad Ayub Chowdhury, Additional Secretary of the Ministry of Home Affairs Mohammad Abdullah Al Masud Chowdhury presided over the meeting. The CEO of the German Veridos company, Mr. Andreas Raschmeir was present at the opening of the e-passport.
In a meeting held at the Bangladesh Embassy during the inauguration, the Home Minister said, “As per the promise of the Hon’ble Prime Minister, the e-passport has been handed over to the general public in the Mujib year. In 2010, the Government of Bangladesh issued Machine Readable Passport (MRP) and Machine Readable Visa (MRV) to foreign nationals wishing to travel to Bangladesh. At present MRP and MRV services are available in 63 foreign missions. Since its introduction, 3 crore 11 lakh 10 thousand MRPs have been issued and 16 lakh 19 thousand MRPs have been issued.
He added that the government has not stopped the modernization of this service by introducing ‘MRP and MRV’. On January 22, 2020, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina inaugurated the world’s most modern e-passport at the Bangabandhu International Conference Center, saying, “E-passport is a gift of the Mujib year for the people of Bangladesh.”
Asaduzzaman Khan said, “The Department of Immigration and Passports has taken initiative to introduce Bangladesh e-passport in order to consolidate the national position and status in line with the needs of the age and developed countries. E-passports are already being issued from all passport offices in Bangladesh. E-gates have been installed at the airport, the first of its kind in South Asia, even in a small number of developed countries. Through this, the successful implementation of the far-sighted thinking of the Hon’ble Prime Minister became possible.
Speaking on the occasion, Director General of the Passport and Immigration Department Major General Ayub Chowdhury said, “Currently, e-passports are being issued from 69 offices in 64 districts of the country. It will soon be effective in 70 missions in the country.
Speaking on the occasion, Bangladesh Ambassador to Germany Md. Mosharraf Hossain Bhuiyan said, “The present government led by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, the daughter of Bangabandhu and her worthy daughter, has taken Bangladesh forward through strong and neutral diplomacy besides ensuring economic and social development and internal stability. ‘
