Albania’s Council of Ministers has expanded the responsibilities of the state-owned company supported by ALBTraceCo, extending its remit from biometric document production into digital identity systems and the protection of sensitive identity data.
The cabinet decision amends a 2023 measure governing the joint-stock company established to produce and distribute biometric documents. It assigns the company a broader role in administering and developing systems that protect citizens’ sensitive data, identity data and biometric data.
The new remit also covers blank physical biometric documents and critical state platforms and systems. It expressly includes electronic systems related to biometric identity, digital identity, electronic identification, authentication, traceability and electronic verification.
ALBTraceCo is named as the source of capacity and high-security technology supporting the company. The Interior Ministry, the company responsible for biometric documents and ALBTraceCo are charged with implementing the decision.
The measure takes effect after publication in Albania’s Official Gazette. It places document production and a wider range of identity infrastructure within the same state-controlled operating framework.
The cabinet text treats the company’s technology capacity as applicable to both physical and electronic credentials. That creates a direct operational connection between secure document materials, citizen identity records and the platforms that authenticate people when they use digital services.
The expansion comes as Albania advances plans for a national digital identity system intended to support access to public and private services. The government has linked that program to its broader effort to align digital services with European Union requirements.
Albania is also investing in specialized biometric infrastructure. A separate police biometric center procurement launched this summer covers fingerprint and facial recognition capabilities for law enforcement.
ALBTraceCo was created as part of Albania’s move to bring production of passports and identity cards under greater state control. The latest decision broadens that model by assigning responsibilities that reach beyond the physical credential and into the systems used to establish, authenticate and verify identity electronically.
Source: Albanian Council of Ministers
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By Ji-seo Kim
