OSCE holds workshop to help Uzbekistan improve travel document security

TASHKENT, 2 March 2007 - More than 50 experts from the Interior Ministry, the Foreign Ministry, the National Security Service and other institutions discussed how Uzbekistan's travel document security can be improved during a two-day OSCE-organized workshop in Tashkent.

"Upgrading travel and identity document security is important not only to counter terrorism, but also to protect our citizens against identity theft and other forms of crime," said Dimitar Jalnev, Programme Co-ordinator with the OSCE's Action against Terrorism Unit, which organized the workshop together with the OSCE Project Co-ordinator in Uzbekistan and the Interior Ministry.

Alisher Toshmetov of the Interior Ministry added: "Studying the technological security features of travel documents, including biometrically enabled electronic passports, management standards and issuance is of great importance to us. We also are interested in hearing about international co-operation in this area."

Topics discussed at the workshop, which ended today, included international standards for machine-readable travel documents, biometric identifiers, handling and issuance, as well as a search tool for Interpol´s database on lost and stolen travel documents.

OSCE Ambassador Miroslav Jenca, the OSCE Project Co-ordinator in Uzbekistan, encouraged the participants to use the event to learn more about the possibilities of implementing a new passport system.

Representatives from the OSCE, Interpol, the International Civil Aviation Organization and experts from Britain, Estonia, Germany, Sweden and the Netherlands shared their experiences during the workshop.