Bolivian authorities, interested in obtaining first-hand
information on IOM's Modernization of the Ecuadorian Passport
Issuance System and the Technical Selection Units for Migrant
Workers projects, recently visited the projects.

The Bolivian visitors were briefed by Ecuadorian technicians on
how the passport issuance system has been set up in Ecuador, the
links established with Ecuadorian consulates around the world, the
security measures that have been put in place, and the
technological and biometric elements that have been incorporated
into the passports.

IOM Chief of Mission in Quito, Alejandro Guidi explains: "The
passport issuance project has been a great success because it has
resulted in an internationally recognized travel document. 
Now, the Ecuadorian government has state-of-the-art equipment to
issue travel documents to its nationals through a system that
guarantees adherence to international standards of security and
quality, as set by the International Civil Aviation
Organization."

The new system includes 23 security mechanisms incorporated into
the machine-readable passport, a reduction in the issuance process
to an average of 20 minutes, and includes a database that can be
accessed by Ecuadorian consulates all over the world.

Some 350,000 new passports are processed every year in
Ecuador.

The delegation also visited the office of the Technical
Selection Unit of Migrant Workers, whose primary purpose is to
select, transport, and integrate Ecuadorian migrant workers in
Spain, as part of the Agreement Regarding the Regulation and
Planning of Migratory Flows, signed by Ecuador and Spain in May of
2001.

For more information, please contact:

Ana Guzman

IOM-Ecuador

Tel:  + (593-2) 225-3948

E-mail: "mailto:aguzman@iom.int">aguzman@iom.int