Oman became the first Gulf Cooperation Council nation to issue electronic identification cards and now continues its tradition of leadership in implementing advanced “eGovernment” technologies. In May 2015, the Royal Oman Police (ROP) opened a new state-of-the-art Center of Excellence designed to train staff to issue eIDs and ePassports to Oman’s citizens and to share knowledge and best practices.
Use of this cutting-edge digital security technology should help prevent document fraud, such as the September 2015 incident in which an Omani citizen was arrested for trying to sell false Omani passports to noncitizens for 25,000 Omani riyals, the equivalent of more than $50,000.
The Center of Excellence was installed and equipped by Gemalto, a digital security company based in France, which also is providing instruction to the ROP’s trainers. “Over the years, Gemalto consistently supported us being a pioneer in our region when it comes to government programs,” said Maj. Gen. Sulaiman Al-Harthy, assistant inspector general of ROP.
The system’s document pooling infrastructure, Gen. Al-Harthy said, will allow the ROP “to deliver the best experience to our citizens.”