Gemalto, a leader in digital security, today announced it will supply its Setec* e-passport solution for the future Polish electronic passports. The first commercial deliveries started in July, and under the frame agreement, Gemalto will provide the Polish Printing State Agency (PWPW) with the inlays for electronic covers of the future passports to be provided to Polish citizens.

In compliance with the European Union recommendations, Poland started issuing electronic passports for their citizens by the end of August 2006. A successful pilot phase including over 3 000 diplomatic e-passports took place earlier this year, confirming Gemalto as the main supplier for the global roll out handled by the Polish Ministry of Interior and Administration. According to the Ministry of Interior and Administration, all new Polish passports needed to be electronically-enabled by the end of August 2006. The Polish Printing State Agency currently produces around 1.5M passports each year.

Gemalto's Setec e-passport solution, enhanced by Setec secure technology, includes the company's highly secure operating system, with cryptographic features running on a large capacity contactless chip embedded in the booklet's back cover sheet. "Gemalto is delighted to contribute to the Polish e-passport program. Our co-operation with the national agencies has been extremely constructive and our common target to develop a secure and well-performing solution for the benefit of the country's passport holder exceeded expectations", said Jacques Seneca, President Europe at Gemalto.

Many countries worldwide are expected to start nationwide rollouts of their biometric passports during the course of this year. With strong references and global footprint, Gemalto has the most complete product and service offer in the emerging identification market.
Current e-passport references of Gemalto include the Czech Republic, France, Norway, Portugal, Russia, Singapore, Slovenia, Sweden and the United States of America. To date, Gemalto has enabled more than 3 million e-passports with its secured chip-based technology.