National Digital Identification System to be Established in the Maldives.

President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih on Tuesday, upon recommendation from his Cabinet, decided to establish a National Digital Identification System. Deliberations on a paper proposed on the matter by the Ministry of Environment, Climate Change, and Technology was held at the Cabinet meeting held on the 22nd of February 2022 at the President’s Office.

Establishing and adopting a National Digital Identification System is carried out under the administration’s National Resilience and Recovery Plan (NRR) 2020–2022. The system would be developed and maintained by the National Centre for Information Technology (NCIT) and the Department of National Registration (DNR).

The new system would enable the adoption of biometric technologies in DNRs' identity management systems and the introduction of contactless identification cards. NICT and DNR would also develop digital identification applications for smartphones and extend the use of the digital identification platform to the private sector.