In a major move to enhance consular services for Bangladeshi expatriates residing in Ethiopia and neighboring countries, the Bangladesh Embassy in Addis Ababa has formally started offering e-passport services.

Air Vice Marshal Sitwat Nayeem, the ambassador of Bangladesh to Ethiopia, was the chief guest at the inauguration ceremony on Wednesday afternoon, a press release said.

Special guests included M. Anwar Parvez, Deputy Director of the Ministry of Home Affairs; Shihab Uddin Khan, Director (Finance and Administration); and Lieutenant Colonel Mohammad Monjur-E-Elahi, Deputy Project Director of the Implementation of e-Passport and Automated Border Control Management in Bangladesh Project.

In his speech as chief guest, Ambassador Nayeem paid tribute to the martyrs of the 2024 July Uprising and honored the veteran freedom fighters of the 1971 Liberation War. 

For Bangladeshi expatriates in Ethiopia and three neighboring countries, he said, the Addis Ababa Mission's implementation of e-passport services would greatly simplify immigration procedures. 

He went on to say that the e-passports' cutting-edge technology would boost Bangladesh's reputation internationally and might encourage other nations to seek visa-exemption deals with the country.

In a brief address, Lieutenant Colonel Mohammad Monjur-E-Elahi emphasized the significance of e-passport technology and the necessity of using it appropriately and efficiently.

The ambassador thanked the e-passport project team and the Ministry of Home Affairs' Department of Immigration & Passports (DIP) for making the Addis Ababa mission the 68th Bangladeshi overseas mission to offer e-passport services.