Rabat – Over the course of 2016, the Moroccan consulates in Brussels, Orly and Marseilles developed biometric data collection systems as part of the General Directorate of National Security’s (DGSN) strategy to improve police infrastructure for citizens living inside and outside the borders of the kingdom.
Providing this new service allowed 1,808 Moroccans living abroad to acquire a national identity card from their local embassy, without having to return to their home country. The process for the approval of residence visas to foreigners and asylum seekers was also streamlined via this technology.
The information, released on Tuesday, comes as part of the DGSN review of security upgrades over the past year. The agency said it aimed to improve the readiness of the national police force while improving the quality and quantity of services it provided to citizens.
The DGSN’s data also counts 466 people in Morocco with valid special refugee cards, with 71 issued in 2016 and the remainder renewed for an extended period. A total of 16,288 others received temporary authorization to stay in the kingdom as they continued they journey onward to other countries.
“This strategy has made it possible, through the year 2016, to lay the basic foundations of good governance in the financial and administrative management, and strengthen the integrity of synthesis mechanisms and staff capacity building, which reflects positively on the quality of security services provided to citizens, and contribute to the improvement of readiness and effectiveness in accordance with the operational interests of security,” the DGSN’s statement read.
