Nigerien President General Abdourahamane Tiani has successfully completed his enrolment process for the new biometric passport of the Confederation of Sahel States (AES), which is being introduced as a highly secure and harmonized travel document across the regional alliance.
The Nigerien leader carried out the official enrolment procedure on Thursday at the Presidential Palace, marking a new stage in the rollout of the Confederation’s unified identity and travel documents. This operation follows President Tiani’s previous enrolment for the AES biometric identity card on March 27 and positions Niger as the third AES member state to begin implementing the common biometric passport, following similar rollouts in Burkina Faso and Mali.
Burkina Faso was the first country to officially introduce the document when it launched the AES biometric passport on January 29, 2025, following the initial enrolment of President Ibrahim Traoré. Malian authorities subsequently launched their own secure AES e-passport on October 27, 2025, alongside the official resumption of passport production by their relevant state authorities. According to Nigerien officials, the new passport system is intended to provide citizens with modern, secure travel documents that strictly comply with the harmonized technical specifications adopted by AES member states in Bamako back in October 2024.
Five distinct categories of the biometric passport are now available in Niger to meet various travel needs. These include an ordinary passport with a green cover issued to all Nigerien citizens, a service passport with a blue cover reserved for state officials travelling on official assignments, a diplomatic passport with a burgundy cover intended for senior officials and diplomats, a refugee passport issued to individuals granted official refugee status in accordance with international conventions, and a newly introduced Hadj passport specifically designed for pilgrims travelling to Mecca. The document incorporates enhanced security features aimed at improving the reliability of identification systems and combating document fraud. Following his enrolment, the Nigerien head of state congratulated the National Police and technical partner Al Itissal Al Jadeed for their work in implementing the system, while urging the processing teams to maintain high professionalism and ensure a quality service for all users.
AC/lb/abj/APA