ICAO to hold regional seminar in Burkina Faso
The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) will hold a Regional Seminar on Machine Readable Travel Documents (MRTDs) and Traveller Identification Management from November 12-14, in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso.
The MRTD Regional Seminar being organized by the ICAO with the support of the National Agency of Civil Aviation of Burkina Faso, would assist Member States on the African continent in implementing ICAO machine readable travel document specifications and related ICAO Standards and Recommended Practices.
A statement issued by the ICAO, which was made available to the Ghana News Agency on Saturday noted that the seminar would specifically address the needs of States to enhance the integrity of the passport issuance process and ensure robust identification management in order to maximize border security and facilitation benefits.
It said in particular, the MRTD Regional Seminar would focus on the proposed ICAO Traveller Identification Programme (ICAO TRIP) Strategy.
“The Strategy, responding to the global driving forces and needs of Member States, provides a framework for achieving the maximum benefits of travel documents in the future.
“It brings together the elements of identification management and builds on ICAO leadership in matters related to Machine Readable Travel Documents,” it noted.
The statement said the key point of the ICAO TRIP Strategy is a recognized need for a holistic and integrated approach to traveller identification management.
It said the approach that links the five elements of traveller identification and border controls into a coherent framework: evidence of identification, document issuance and control, MRTDs, inspection systems and tools, and interoperable applications.
“ICAO recognizes the benefits of traveller identification management to aviation security and facilitation.
“ICAO’s mission is to contribute to the capacity of Member States to uniquely identify individuals by providing tools and knowledge to establish and confirm the identity of travellers,” it said.
It said another focus of the Regional Seminar in Burkina Faso is technical assistance and capacity building support to States in need.
“The Seminar is an opportunity to discuss their assistance needs with countries and regional organizations from the African continent and explore together ways for mobilising more effective capacity-building assistance,” it said.
The statement said an industry exhibition would complement the Seminar with a broad range of products and services related to MRTDs, biometric identification, travel document security applications and border inspection systems.
It said seminar participants would have an opportunity to interact with ICAO industry partners and experts to discuss the latest available traveller identification technology.
“MRTD Seminar speakers and facilitators include top experts in the field, policy makers and senior managers, practitioners and researchers, many from the relevant working groups of ICAO, ISO and other international organizations,” it said.
It said the MRTD Regional Seminar would be of particular interest to government officials from national identity and travel document issuance authorities, civil registries, passport offices, immigration, customs and other border inspection and law enforcement agencies; Ministries of Interior and Foreign Affairs, as well as embassy consular staff.
It said other key stakeholders include international organizations, donor agencies, private companies offering technologies and products for effective international identity and border management, airlines and airport authorities, security and facilitation consultants and academia.
Source: GNA