880,000 passports to be commissioned

To serve market until biometric ones are out

The Council of Ministers has approved the Ministry of Interior’s request to sign a consensual agreement with the French National Printing House to issue 880,000 new passports.

The passports will serve the local market for 18 months, the expected deadline for the circulation of the promised biometric passports.

The value of the deal is $3 million.

Interior Minister Nouhad Machnouk was in Paris last month to discuss means to strengthen bilateral ties on the security level, including the production of the passports.