Colombia will seek international alliance for passport issuance – 2024-08-14 20:22:59 – 2024-08-14 20:34:12

The passport plot

The Foreign Ministry suspended the tender in February because, according to other companies interested in the tender, there is no free competition since in the last 17 years the same firm, Thomas Greg & Sonshas been responsible for producing Colombian passports and visa labels.

The contract with Thomas Greg & Sons still had three years left, which is why the company, after failing to reach a conciliation agreement with the Government, announced last December a lawsuit against the State for 117 billion pesos (about 29.1 million dollars today).

This tender caused the provisional suspension – which later became definitive when Petro appointed Chancellor Luis Gilberto Murillo-, by the Attorney General’s Office of the former foreign minister, Álvaro Leyva, for possible irregularities in the passport bidding process.

The Colombian government’s current plan is for the National Printing Office, which is part of the Ministry of the Interior, to produce these documents, as it is already doing with foreign identity cards.

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However, Murillo revealed, the Printing Press “still needs processes additional strengthening, would not be ready to take over on October 3,” which is why they are receiving proposals from foreign governments to guarantee the production of these documents.

“Next week the Colombian Government will select one of these proposals for international cooperation (…) and once this Government is chosen we will begin, starting fromOn October 3, the implementation of this hybrid. “The production of passports is not at risk at any time, it will be a smooth transition,” Murillo confirmed.