 The Government of Saint Lucia continues to implement measures directed at improving national security as well as meeting globally acceptable standards in border security. The immigration department, in conjunction with other government departments, has been working diligently towards the introduction of electronic passports or e-passports, which are now replacing machine-readable passports worldwide. A team of consultants from the Canadian bank note company CBN, a reputed leader in travel document security, is on island for discussions on the implementation process. The CBN has been working with the Government of Saint Lucia since 2005 when the island introduced machine-readable passports. In 2015, the CBN assisted in upgrading that system. An international civil aviation organization, IKO, a United Nations agency, is overseeing the global transition to microchipped passports, which add a layer of security, making passport issuing systems less susceptible to fraud. Some 135 countries now issue electronic passports. Michael Walker is a member of the visiting CBN team. The e-passport is internationally recognized as the most secure form of travel document. A microchip incorporated within the book includes information on the traveler as well as a digital certificate. The certificate can be verified within international border control community, thus ensuring the e-passport was issued by a recognized government. CBN has helped more than eight governments within CARACOM and other governments including Canada and New Zealand to migrate their passports to electronic passports. We look forward to delivering a newly designed Saint Lucia e-passport that will contain world-leading security features, as well as a design that will represent the people, places, and culture of Saint Lucia. The new e-passports are being designed in accordance with the IKO standards. 175,000 passports are expected to be printed for regular diplomatic and official issuance. With the advent of the electronic passports, a state-of-the-art issuance system, including new hardware, software, and a database, will be implemented. Immigration expert in the office of the Prime Minister, Lucia Slake, says the upgrade to internationally accepted standards will have financial cost that is being assessed. In response, the present cost of passports are $80 you get within 14 working days and $130 you express or expedited you get in five working days. It will increase the cost of the passports because as Michael said, we're going to a different genre of passports. It has an e-chip embedded in it with a lot more security features. It is one of the highest forms of passports being used now, right now, moving away from the machine-readable passports to the e-passport. It's a costly venture going down that road, so it will be a decision that the government will take as to how much they're going to absorb in the new passports, in the new cost of the e-passports going forward. The entire process is being changed. Everything you do now for the machine-readable passports, some of that will be kept on, but there will be changes as we go along the way. The CBN's project services to the government of St. Lucia include project management, installation of systems, training and program support spanning seven years. When the e-passport system is implemented, St. Lucia will be among the caracum countries already issuing electronic passports. They include Barbados, Dominica, St. Kitts, Grenada, Antigua and Belize. From the Government Information Service, Lisa Joseph reporting.