De La Rue to Provide East Africa's First eID Project

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Feb 11, 2010, 08:00 ET

LONDON, February 11 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- De La Rue Identity Systems, a world expert in secure e-government identity solutions, today announced that it will design and roll-out East Africa's first national eID project for the Government of Rwanda, as part of the ongoing Rwandan National ID project (NID). The plans for systems integration, to combine data from the current ID card, passport and driver's licence, are already underway. The first eID documents are expected to be distributed in around six months, following successful completion of the pilot phase.

Rwanda's existing national ID card, also produced by De La Rue, is currently held by all citizens over the age of 16. It is envisaged the new eID card will replace this and contain additional e-government information, such as health and social security details, putting Rwanda at the forefront of regional IT advancement and offering further evidence of its strong economic resurgence.

Pascal Nyamurinda, National ID Project Coordinator, Ministry of Local Government said "Rwanda is very proud to be launching East Africa's first eID scheme. This project is of utmost importance for our country, providing our citizens with access to additional services through the use of a highly secure eID device. We have chosen to work with De La Rue for over ten years now and throughout that time we have been impressed by their constant efforts to exceed our expectations, always delivering an innovative and trusted solution."

James Thorburn, Managing Director, De La Rue Identity Systems commented "De La Rue is delighted to be strengthening its relationship with Rwanda, focused on delivering a dynamic strategic project. We already provide the country's passport, current ID card, driver's licence and supporting systems so we are able to use our local knowledge and expertise, as well as experience from implementing over 50 national schemes, to ensure successful implementation of the new eID project."

    Notes to Editors:

    About De La Rue Identity Systems

    1) Identity Systems has successfully implemented over 50 national schemes
    across every continent.

    2) We are involved in a wide range of projects including ePassports for
    the Bahamas, Malta and the State of Qatar, enhanced driving licence for
    New York State and national ID cards for Chile, Senegal and Sierra Leone.

    3) We currently produce the UK's emergency travel document (ETD) on
    behalf of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office. We have also been awarded
    a contract by the Identity and Passport Service (IPS), part of the Home
    Office, to deliver the new UK biometric passport in October 2010.

    4) Backed by many years experience in designing and producing passports
    Identity Systems experts act as advisers to ICAO and ISO, helping to
    define passport standards and electronic infrastructure.

    5) We have also contributed to the activities of other
    international organisations including: Interpol, the United Nations, the
    International Organization for Migration (IOM), the Organization for
    Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) and the Comite Interamericano
    Contra el Terrorismo (CICTE).

About De La Rue

De La Rue is the world's largest commercial security printer and papermaker, involved in the production of over 150 national currencies and a wide range of security documents such as passports, authentication labels and fiscal stamps. The Company is a leading provider of cash sorting equipment and software solutions to central banks, helping them to reduce the cost of handling cash. De La Rue also pioneers new technologies in government identity solutions for national identification, driver's licence and passport issuing schemes. De La Rue employs over 4,000 people worldwide and is a member of the FTSE 250. Its ordinary shares are listed with the UK Listing Authority and trade on the market for listed securities on the London Stock Exchange under the symbol DLAR.

http://www.delarue.com

SOURCE De La Rue Identity Systems