New Hampshire Technology on Display as African Procurement Specialists Tour the State

For Immediate Release

Washington, DC (21 July 1999) - New Hampshire companies that offer specialized technology and services in the passport and identification card field will have the opportunity next week to introduce themselves to key procurement officials from six African nations that are aggressively moving national identity card projects and passport programs forward. The visit will take place as part of a two-week orientation visit to the United States, which has included stops in the Washington, D.C. area, Minnesota, Massachusetts and New Hampshire.

"TDA-sponsored orientation visits are an invaluable tool for U.S. businesses to meet with foreign project sponsors on their own home turf. We encourage New Hampshire companies ñ particularly smaller enterprises ñ to take advantage of this cost-effective way to conduct international business," said TDA Director J. Joseph Grandmaison.

New Hampshire technology companies are invited to attend a July 28th business briefing in Merrimack where they will hear project presentations from the African delegation, which consists of participants from Botswana, Gabon, Ghana, Namibia, Nigeria and South Africa. The briefing, jointly sponsored with the New Hampshire International Trade Resource Center, will be held at the Merrimack Hotel on Executive Drive. Companies interested in registering should call MichelleDavis at the Trade Resource Center at (603) 334-6074.

Prior to the Wednesday morning business briefing, the African delegates will have visited Imaging Automation in Bedford, a worldwide leader in photo identification and documentation management systems, and the U.S. Department of State's National Passport Center in Portsmouth. Following the business briefing, the delegates will have the opportunity to see cutting edge U.S. technology in action when they tour the New Hampshire Department of Motor Vehicles in Manchester. Each of the countries is striving to improve its national identification card and passport systems. Coupled with initiatives to consolidate a variety of identification cards including entitlement cards, birth certificates, and boating, hunting and fishing licenses, more than $100 million in export opportunities exist for U.S. companies. Potential technology to be procured includes high-resolution photograph and digitalized signature equipment, magnetic strips, bar codes, smart card chips, and tamper-resistant topcoats.

The U.S. Trade and Development Agency is an independent federal agency that assists in the creation of jobs for Americans by helping U.S. companies pursue overseas business opportunities. TDA provides American firms with market entry, exposure and information through the funding of feasibility studies, technical assistance, reverse trade missions, and conferences. These efforts help American businesses establish a position in newly emerging economies.

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