Laos readies national digital ID card rollout

Laos is ready to take its nationwide digital ID card system to the next stage.

The Southeast Asian country’s Department of Mass Media announced that it is moving forward with the initiative via its official Facebook page, reportes The Laotian Times. An exact timeline has not been disclosed.

“In the digital age modern technology is rapidly evolving, the livelihoods of people around the world are undergoing a new transformation to meet the guidelines of digital government, digital economy and digital society,” the Facebook post says, calling the modernizing step part of the government’s strategic direction.

A centralized database will be established along with infrastructure to manage citizens’ personal data securely with the aim of creating a robust digital identity system. The project is part of a broader governmental push to modernize public services and build DPI with a speech in January setting out priorities such as deploying high-speed internet and digital government systems.

Laos is getting a helping hand from other countries in its efforts. Japan-based companies NEC, Ryobi System and J&C are all involved in building Laos’ digital identity system, which is being managed by the Digital Government Center run by the Ministry of Technology and Communications of Laos, with funding from Japan’s Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications.

Vietnamese and Laotian government officials have expressed a collaborative spirit in developing a citizenship database and identity card as the neighboring countries signed an MoU last summer on the implementation of such a project. This was an “important event with great significance for Lao-Vietnam relations” and Laos president Thongloun Sisoulith and then-president of Vietnam To Lam were present during the official launch of the digital ID project in July 2024, which was held in conjunction with Laos’ ASEAN chairmanship.

Vietnamese officials and experts have provided strategic advice to their Lao counterparts on the building of the ID management system with the diplomatic wording suggesting a tightening alliance between the two neighbors.

Regula was chosen for ID document verification technology at Wattay International Airport, with the Regula 4306 Comparator deployed under a partnership between the Laotian government, IOM and the Australian Department of Home Affairs.

Article Topics

digital government  |  digital ID  |  digital identity  |  digital public infrastructure  |  identity management  |  Laos  |  national ID  |  NEC  |  Southeast Asia