DHAKA  – Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina today called upon Germany to implement e-Passport Project quickly to issue electronic passports alongside the Machine Readable Passports (MRP) for the citizens of Bangladesh.

The prime minister made the request when German Ambassador in Dhaka Dr Thomas Heinrich Prinz paid a farewell call on the PM at her office in the city this morning.

Prime Minister’s Press Secretary Ihsanul Karim briefed reporters after the meeting.

On July 19 last, Bangladesh and Germany signed a government-to-government agreement on implementation of e-Passport project. World-leading identity solutions provider Veridos, a joint venture of Giesecke+Devrient and state-owned Bundesdruckerei GmbH, will implement the contract.

The long-term ?340mn contract covers the entire value-chain for e-Passports – from security paper right through to e-Gates. The contract will run for 12 years.

At the meeting, the prime minister said her government is working for all round development of the country. “But there is a problem here that if the government is changed, the next government stops the lift projects taken by the previous administration

She appreciated the German envoy’s activities here in the last three and half a year as he carried the relations between the two countries forward.

Sheikh Hasina conveyed her greetings to German Chancellor Angela Merkel through the outgoing ambassador.

The German envoy thanked the Prime Minister and her government for extending sincere cooperation during his stay in Dhaka. “I passed a wonderful time here,” he said.

Thomas Heinrich Prinz expressed satisfaction over the existing bilateral relations between Bangladesh and Germany. “We are on a good track in regard to business,” the Press Secretary quoted him as saying.
He assured that Germany will continue its cooperation for further development of Bangladesh.

The German envoy highly praised Bangladesh’s socio-economic development and said that he is very impressed to see mobile phone in hands of every people of the country.

PM’s Principal Secretary Md Nojibur Rahman was present on the occasion.