DUSHANBE, March 4, 2014, Asia-Plus -- Nazarali Rahmatulloyev, an official with the Interior Ministry traffic police department, announced the launch of biometric driving licenses in Tajikistan at a press conference in Dushanbe on March 4.

According to him, issuance of these smart card driving licenses will begin on March 5. 

“The biometric driving licenses are launched in the country in accordance with requirements of the Vienna Convention on Road Traffic,” Rahmatulloyev said.     

The Convention on Road Traffic, commonly known as the Vienna Convention on Road Traffic, is an international treaty designed to facilitate international road traffic and to increase road safety by establishing standard traffic rules among the contracting parties.  The convention was agreed upon at the United Nations Economic and Social Council''s Conference on Road Traffic (October 7 -- November 8, 1968 and done in Vienna on 8 November 1968. It came into force on May 21, 1977.  The convention has been ratified by 70 countries, including Tajikistan.

“The state duty for the biometric driving license is 165.00 somoni and the cost of certificate of registration of automotive vehicles is 140.00 somoni,” Rahmatulloyev said, noting that ordinary driving licenses will be replaced with biometric driving licenses during ten years.

He stressed that the biometric driving licenses are valid in all the Vienna Convention on Road Traffic contracting countries.