Interior minister, HayPass CEO sign report confirming fulfillment of investment commitments ahead of biometric system rollout

Armenian Minister of Internal Affairs Arpine Sargsyan on October 30 received the senior management of IN Groupe and HayPass, led by Dounia El Hasnaoui, Group Chief Financial Officer of IN Groupe.

Minister Sargsyan thanked them for the effective cooperation, emphasizing the strategic importance of the project to introduce a new biometric document system in Armenia, the Ministry of Internal Affairs said in a statement.

The Minister noted that this first public-private partnership project in Armenia is an important step toward modernizing public services, introducing state-of-the-art technologies and improving the quality of services provided to citizens.

Sargsyan expressed confidence that, with the implementation of the project, Armenian citizens would receive high-quality services at modern service centers meeting international standards and obtain secure documents.

Dounia El Hasnaoui, Group Chief Financial Officer of IN Groupe, thanked the Armenian side for its trust and effective partnership, emphasizing that the company would continue to make every necessary effort to ensure the successful implementation of the project and the provision of high-quality services to citizens.

The meeting also addressed the introduction of e-gates, or automated border crossing systems, at Armenia's border checkpoints. An agreement was reached to install the relevant systems within a short timeframe, ensuring faster, more convenient and safer border crossing procedures.

The sides also discussed the establishment of a modern data center within the framework of the project, an unprecedented technological investment for Armenia that will be essential to ensuring the secure and uninterrupted operation of the biometric system.

The economic significance of the project was also highlighted. In particular, HayPass's operations have created new jobs in Armenia, with the majority of the company's employees being Armenian specialists, contributing to the development of local professional expertise and the transfer of international experience.

At the conclusion of the meeting, Armenian Minister of Internal Affairs Arpine Sargsyan and HayPass Chief Executive Officer Régis Bauchiere signed a report prepared by an independent expert company on the public-private partnership project for the introduction of the biometric system. The document certifies that the parties have duly fulfilled their investment commitments and are ready to launch the operational phase of the project.

Nerses Yeritsyan, Chairman of the Information Systems Regulatory Commission, also attended the meeting.