By Oumar Sankare
BAMAKO, Mali (AA) - The junta administration in Burkina Faso issued a new generation biometric passport Wednesday without any mention or insignia of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), according to officials.
The passports are equipped with an electronic chip for data collection and storage.
“This new document will allow online pre-registration, flexible registration in connected or disconnected mode, instant transmission of data to embassies and increased security,” said Security Minister Mahamadou Sana.
He said that old passports are valid until they expire.
Those seeking new passports will pay a fee according to a previously fixed rate of 50,000 West African CFA francs ($84.46), but “certain amenities around the new passport may be subject to taxes,” he said.
The new document is made from polycarbonate, according to the head of the National Identification Office (ONI), Parfait Loure.
The Chinese company Emptech designed the new passport.
“The new passport belongs to the latest generation of passports recommended by international civil aviation authorities," according to Loure, who said it is the culmination of a process launched in 2022 that makes Burkina Faso the first country in West Africa and the 10th on the continent to acquire a state-of-the-art identification document.
Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger withdrew last year from ECOWAS, which had threatened to militarily intervene in those countries after a coup in Niger in July 2023.
They formed the Alliance of Sahel States (AES) earlier this year and announced the creation of a joint military force to counter spiraling security challenges posed in their countries by terrorist groups.