Long-drawn MRP saga nears end
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KATHMANDU, AUG 27 - Finally, the long saga of Machine Readable Passport (MRP) seems to be dying down after the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) on Thursday approved the watermark insignia (design) of the passport.
The move has given the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA) the green signal to seal the much-awaited deal with French company Oberthur Technologies. Given the sensitive nature of MRP, a political decision was sine qua non to avert a possible controversy over the watermark insignia, which emblazons in each alternative page of the 32-page MRP copy.
“Acting on the direction of Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal, the Prime Minister’s Office approved the watermark insignia and informed of the decision to the Foreign Ministry on Thursday,” a senior government official privy to this decision told the Post.
The PMO’s decision has paved the way for striking the deal with Oberthur. Earlier, the Cabinet had delegated the prime minister to take the final call in the matter.
“Most likely we are signing the agreement on Friday if we settle all negotiations with Oberthur. We have already narrowed down some outstanding issues,” a senior MoFA official said on condition of anonymity.
During recent negotiations, MoFA had refused to provide some grace period to Oberthur from the 70-day deadline to supply the first consignment of MRP.
“That is why we wanted the approval of the MRP design and agreement to go simultaneously,” the official said. Talks between MoFA and Oberthur are in the final phase now.
If the MRP deal sees the light on Friday, all past controversies and dramas, including “the tone changing tendency” of Prime Minister Nepal and Foreign Minister Sujata Koirala, will come to an end.
The approval of the design had landed in the Cabinet after Koirala refused to okay it accusing her ministry officials of keeping her in the dark about previous negotiations.
Posted on: 2010-08-27 09:25
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