Iran's Police Joins ICAO’s E-Passport Plan
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Iranian Law Enforcement Force as the country’s representative joined the e-passport plan of International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO).
The e-passport is the next generation of travel documents and has many advantages such as reducing the risk of tampering and identity fraud by adding more layers of identity checks, all of which must match.
The introduction of e-passports creates opportunities for states to enhance global civil aviation security while at the same time improving the efficiency of aviation operations.
Iran’s police force, as the responsible body for issuing passports for Iranian citizens, has managed to join ICAO’s e-passport plan, the Public Key Directory (PKD). The membership came after Tehran signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on May 18, 2014 to join the ICAO PKD.
In a bid to comply with global standards, Iran has been issuing e-passports for its citizens since 2011, and is regarded as one of the pioneers in the field.
Membership in PKD requires that applicants meet all the necessary standards announced by the ICAO, and provide the infrastructures, implement the required software, and receive the relevant certificates. In other words, membership in PKD indicates that a country's passport meets all international standards.