ISLAMABAD - The Japanese government has agreed to extend a grant aid of worth 500 million Japanese Yen (Rs453 million or $4.43 million) to Pakistan for installing Face Recognition Systems at major international airports of the country for improvement of security.
The signing ceremony to this effect was held here where Takashi Kurai, Ambassador of Japan to Pakistan and Tariq Mahmood Pasha, Secretary of Economic Affairs Division (EAD), signed the documents on the behalf of their respective governments. Japan has agreed to extend a grant aid of 500 million Japanese yens to Pakistan under its “Economic and Social Development Programme”.
This grant aid is designed to support the promotion of economic and social development in the field of security improvement and counter-terrorism by providing advanced Face Recognition Systems to major international airports of Pakistan. This system is equipped with advanced Japanese technology aiming to improve security measures taken by the airport security staff to protect passengers from any unforeseen situation. Last year, the government of Japan has provided 200 million Japanese Yen to Pakistan for installing advanced Face Recognition System at Karachi International Airport which is being implemented currently.
The Face Recognition System is a computer application capable of identifying or verifying an individual from a digital image of human face mages captured by CCTVs. Recently it has been used more in security systems due to its capacity of mass identification and non-contact process, unlike fingerprint.
In addition to this project, Japan has been assisting Pakistan through implementation of various projects in the field of security. X-ray scanning devices have been installed at three international airports, including Karachi, Lahore and Islamabad and the same project to Karachi and Bin Qasim International Ports is now in progress. In 2015, Japan handed over 123 Japanese Hybrid Vehicles Toyota Prius to the Ministry of Interior and National Highway Police for patrolling. Moreover, in collaboration with UNODC Pakistan, a 4-year project on strengthening border management and illegal drug control is ongoing since last May.
At the signing ceremony, Takashi Kurai, Ambassador of Japan to Pakistan expressed his deepest condolence to the victims of the terror attacks in Lahore on the February 13 as well as in Peshawar and other places on the of February 15 by stating “Terror attack cannot be justified for any reasons”. Ambassador Kurai said: “This grant aid reflects our strong commitment to support the efforts of Pakistan against terrorism”. He also emphasised the importance of further improvement of security situation for successful socio-economic development in Pakistan and renewed his commitment to continue to support and cooperate with Pakistan.