Thales to showcase leading edge government solutions as Platinum Sponsor of the Citizen ID Forum

Thales to showcase leading edge government solutions as Platinum Sponsor of the Citizen ID Forum

Vélizy, France, February 21, 2008–Thales is Platinum Sponsor of the seventh Citizen ID Forum, the global summit on government-driven citizen ID programs, taking place at the Rotana Beach Hotel and Towers in Abu Dhabi, U.A.E., on February 25-26, 2008.

“Thales is a leading player in government-driven citizen ID programs,” comments Michel Viallaneix, Thales Security Solutions & Services Country Director–Gulf Region. “Among the company’s countless projects, we’ve deployed the world’s first contactless national ID card, with over 20 million cards to be produced in four years for the Kingdom of Morocco, as well as the French electronic passport. Thales’ capabilities and expertise are also demonstrated through successes such as the safety of millions of pilgrims in Holy sites, the security and integrity of terabytes of citizen personal data managed by government agencies across the world, and the deployment of the security and communications systems for Dubai International Airport.”

For over 30 years, Thales has had a strong presence in the Gulf Coast countries. Today, Thales is the largest system integrator in the region and a strategic partner of many ministries of transport, ministries of interior and armed forces for the delivery of mission critical systems. The Citizen ID Forum was chosen by Thales as the ideal platform to share its experience in government-driven ID programs with the international community of decision makers behind the next generation of citizen ID projects. Exhibiting at the Citizen ID Forum, Thales representatives will be on hand to provide information and demonstrate the company’s latest security solutions, product and service offerings.

Alain Begey, Thales’ Director eGovernment, will speak on the topic of eHealth challenges in the Middle East on February 26, illustrating a possible way forward to establishing a regional health information system. Leveraging its specialized knowledge of the medical sector, Thales is deploying Hospital Information System (HIS) and Electronic Healthcare Record (eHR) solutions with a best-of-breed approach to address the far-reaching changes under way in this sector. Solutions are easy to deploy, enable interoperability based on standards and ensure complete data security.

The seventh Citizen ID Forum, sponsored by Thales, takes place under the patronage of the Minister of Interior of the UAE, H.H. Sheik Saif bin Zayed Al Nahyan and with the endorsement of Abu Dhabi Police, Emirates Identity Authority and the European Commission. Previous editions of the event have been endorsed by the French Ministry of Interior, the German Ministry of Interior, the Italian Ministry of Interior and the Turkish Ministry of Interior.

About Thales

Thales is a leading international electronics and systems group, addressing defence, aerospace and security markets worldwide. Thales’s leading-edge technology is supported by 22,000 R&D engineers who offer a capability unmatched in Europe to develop and deploy field-proven mission-critical information systems. To this end, the group’s civil and military businesses develop in parallel and share a common base of technologies to serve a single objective: the security of people, property and nations. The group builds its growth on its unique multi-domestic strategy based on trusted partnerships with national customers and market players, while leveraging its global expertise to support local technology and industrial development