Bogotá, Sept. 4, 2024 (Lusa) - The Colombian foreign minister has announced that Portugal's government will help Colombia issue passports and build a factory for the purpose.

Luis Gilberto Murillo explained on Tuesday that the new passport model ‘implies greater public participation, but also sovereignty over the data’ of those applying for the travel document.

‘In this sense, the government of Portugal was chosen (...) because it offered the best guarantees, especially in the cooperation package, which is a combination of the implementation of the passport issuing model,’ said the head of Colombian diplomacy.

Murillo emphasised that issuing the document ‘is guaranteed’ and that citizens ‘can rest assured’, since Portugal will help install infrastructure that will allow the Colombian National Press to take over the issuing process in full from 2025.

The minister added that the company Thomas Greg and Sons, responsible for issuing Colombian passports for the last 17 years, will continue to issue the documents until September 2025.

The previous head of diplomacy, Álvaro Leyva, ended the contract with Thomas Greg and Sons, which was still valid for three years.

After unsuccessfully reaching a conciliation agreement with the Colombian government in December, the company announced a lawsuit against the Colombian state for 117 billion pesos (€25.5 million).

The government suspended the tender in February after the Public Prosecutor's Office provisionally removed Álvaro Leyva due to possible irregularities in the passport tender process.

Colombian President Gustavo Petro appointed Murillo, Colombia's ambassador to the United States, as foreign minister. This appointment became final in May with Leyva's definitive dismissal.

VQ/ADB // ADB.

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