Deployment Started in June 2009
AMSTERDAM--(Business Wire)--
Gemalto (Euronext NL0000400653 GTO), the world leader in digital security, today
announces it is delivering national ID cards to Kuwait, as part of the
government program commissioned by the country`s Public Authority For Civil
Information. Al-Kharafi, an international private Kuwait-based company, is prime
contractor for this nationwide program. The agreement appoints Gemalto to
deliver electronic multi-application ID cards for citizens embedding contact and
contactless smart card technologies, as well as plastic cards for foreign
residents that implement highly secure printing features. In addition, Gemalto
provides support and training services, project management, as well as smart
card related software. Citizen card rollout started in June 2009 and resident
cards will be deployed in the coming months. The national ID card is compulsory
for all inhabitants of Kuwait.
Kuwait determined to deploy this national ID card in order to comply with the
Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) regulation designed to allow citizens of all GCC
countries to travel freely between member states. This card will serve as the
official ID document for Kuwaiti citizens and will also be used as a travel
document in the GCC region.
The Gemalto contactless technology built in the card increases speed,
convenience and security of identity verification at border crossings. In the
future, the contact functionality will allow cardholders to access e-government
services and perform transactions in a simple and secure manner. Foreign
residents will use their card as their national ID document within the Kuwaiti
territory. In the second phase, it could be upgraded to a microprocessor card.
"For PACI, it was important to fully utilize the region`s most established
population registry and provide citizens with a secure travel document and
convenient platform for additional services," commented Musaed Al-Assoussi,
Director General, PACI.
"PACI has always been a pioneer in recording and managing population information
and with the new smart card, they are entering a new era: Security in
identifying the cardholder and convenience when crossing borders," added Jacques
Seneca, executive vice-president of the Security Business Unit at Gemalto.
About Gemalto
Gemalto (Euronext NL 0000400653 GTO) is the world leader in digital security
with 2008 annual revenues of €1.68 billion, and 10,000 employees operating out
of 75 offices, research and service centers in 40 countries.
Gemalto is at the heart of our evolving digital society. The freedom to
communicate, travel, shop, bank, entertain, and work-anytime, anywhere-has
become an integral part of what people want and expect, in ways that are
convenient, enjoyable and secure.
Gemalto delivers on the growing demands of billions of people worldwide for
mobile connectivity, identity and data protection, credit card safety, health
and transportation services, e-government and national security. We do this by
supplying to governments, wireless operators, banks and enterprises a wide range
of secure personal devices, such as subscriber identification modules (SIM),
Universal Integrated Circuit Card (UICC) in mobile phones, smart banking cards,
smart card access badges, electronic passports, and USB tokens for online
identity protection. To complete the solution we also provide software, systems
and services to help our customers achieve their goals.
As the use of Gemalto`s software and secure devices increases with the number of
people interacting in the digital and wireless world, the company is poised to
thrive over the coming years.
For more information please visit www.gemalto.com.
Gemalto
Rémi Calvet
T.: +33 (0) 1 55 01 64 10
M.: +33 (0) 6 22 72 81 58
remi.calvet@gemalto.com
or
Aline Borne
T.: +33 (0)1 55 01 51 05
M.:+33 (0)6 16 29 87 04
aline.borne@gemalto.com
or
TBWA\Corporate
Rebekah Lahey
T.: +33 (0) 1 49 09 26 58
rebekah.lahey@tbwa-corporate.com
Copyright Business Wire 2009
