During a hearing at the Parliamentary Committee on Citizen Initiatives, Cooperation and Institutional Oversight, as part of parliamentary supervision, Silda Anagnosti Çepe stated that in the seven months since assuming leadership of IdentiTek, the focus has been on improving services, strengthening security, and bringing them closer to citizens.

“IdentiTek’s goal is to deliver services with a high level of security, specialised integrity and continuous improvement, in line with national and international standards for the production of biometric documents,” she said.

Çepe explained that “citizens can purchase the coupon online through e‑Kupon, while another new service is the ‘Track the Document’ platform. By entering the application number, citizens can follow at any moment the status of their document — from production to arrival at the collection point.”

She emphasised that “for Albanian citizens living abroad, the service of obtaining a passport has been separated from that of the electronic ID card, giving applicants the option to apply only for the document they actually need.”

Çepe announced that in 15 Albanian diplomatic missions abroad, consuls have been enabled to provide electronic signatures. This makes it possible for Albanian citizens living outside the country to receive biometric documents within a timeframe similar to that of residents in Albania — around two weeks.

During the hearing, IdentiTek’s Director Silda Anagnosti Çepe also highlighted Albania’s accession to the ICAO Public Key Directory (PKD). She noted that this step enhances the international recognition of Albanian documents and strengthens mechanisms against forgery and the criminal misuse of biometric documents.

Meanwhile, Democratic Party MP Ivi Kaso raised concerns about service provision for Albanian citizens abroad, particularly in countries with large diaspora communities.

Democratic Party MP Ivi Kaso stated: “You are in a monopoly situation, as the only entity that equips or denies Albanian citizens identity documents. Given that voting rights for Albanians in the diaspora have already become a legal entitlement, how do you provide this service? As the opposition, we have denounced cases where some diplomatic missions during the electoral period turned into electoral agencies of the ruling party.”

In response, Çepe said that IdentiTek will follow the same practice as in previous elections, providing services wherever they are requested.

She underlined that the company operates with multiple layers of security to protect data and documents, ensuring that any attempt to interfere with its systems is impossible without activating the relevant security mechanisms.

/sm/