Nepal to wait until July 19 before deciding on German passport deal

Nepal's government is delaying a decision on its biometric passport procurement, opting to wait until the contractual deadline of July 19. This pause stems from a significant disagreement between the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs regarding the readiness of German firms Veridos GmbH and Muhlbauer ID Service GmbH to deliver the passports.

The PMO harbors strong doubts about the German companies' ability to commence operations on schedule. Concerns include the incomplete migration of records for 20 million Nepali citizens from the previous provider's system and sample passports that allegedly do not meet technical specifications. Conversely, the Foreign Ministry, along with the Department of Passports' technical team, expresses confidence that the German firms can meet the July 19 deadline.

Adding to the complexity, the Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority, under pressure from the PMO, has filed corruption cases against officials from the Department of Passports and representatives of Veridos and Muehlbauer. Ten individuals, including the director of the Department of Passports and a Muehlbauer representative, were arrested. A Special Court has since ordered the release of eight on bail and two without bail.

In response to the uncertainty, Foreign Minister Shisir Khanal has engaged two independent consultants to assess the Department of Passports' preparedness. Both the PMO and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs have agreed to wait until the July 19 deadline before determining the next steps. While there is no immediate plan to terminate the contract, officials indicate the government will not wait indefinitely for the passport rollout.

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There is no immediate plan to terminate the contract with the German firms, but the government is also not going to wait indefinitely for passport rollout.