The Yemeni-Emirates joint committee held official talks here on Monday to discuss arrangements and procedures to implement the Smart Card Project in Yemen.

Minister of Planning and International Cooperation Abdul-Karim al-Arhabi, who chaired the talks session, noted that the smart card project to be implemented in cooperation with UAE is one of the important and vital projects.

The project would revolutionize the quality of work of the Civil Status and Civil Registration Authority in our country and establish an extensive database of civil registration, so at to contribute to succeeding the development plans, al-Arhabi indicated.

He called upon the committee to mover forward to succeed the project and discuss the appropriate mechanisms for its implementation and identify its priorities and examine the possibility to avail from the current databases to form a national database required by the smart card.

Al-Arhabi praised the UAE’s role in supporting development process in our country.

For his part, Head of the UAE side in the joint committee, Nasser Al Mazrui, presented an explanation on the UAE’s successful experience in the use of smart card, reviewing a number of technical aspects relating to the project and its benefits in different fields, topped by field of security and crime control as well as various economic ,health and other practical fields.

He noted to the importance of the smart card in the e-government system when it is created in the future, stressing the readiness of the UAE to cooperate fully to succeed the smart card project in our country.

In the talks, Undersecretary of Internal Ministry and Head of Yemeni side in the joint committee, Ryiad al-Qurashi, affirmed that the smart card project is a strategic project via which the ministry seeks to develop the system of the civil status and civil registration authority in our country.

Al-Qurashi expected to establish the smart card project in Yemen within two to three years.

Radio-chipped smart card technology is a more efficient way of making sure all skiers have paid before they hit the slopes, according to an assistant police chief.

The Denver Post reported that the new smart cards, which were introduced at many ski resorts across Colorado last year, were originally designed to cut queues, but have had the added benefit of helping to catch more fraudsters in the act.

Greg Morrison of the Breckenridge police commented that there is a “misconception” that it is easier for people to sneak onto the slopes without paying because the new cards are less visible than the old passes, which needed to be scanned visually.

His statement was echoed by Aspen Skiing Co spokesman Jeff Hanle, who commented that the new passes allow resorts to monitor potential fraudsters more closely.

Skiers are not the only people to benefit from shorter queues thanks to smart card technology. In the UK, season ticket holders and members of Bristol City Football Club use smart cards to gain access to matches, while passengers on Arriva buses in Bolton use sQuid cashless payments to travel.