KATHMANDU: The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) has annulled an international tender called for printing five million E-passports at the eleventh hour.

Issuing a statement on Thursday, the Department of Passports said that the tender was annulled as per the decision of the government of Nepal without further clarification.

The ministry had called the tender for procurement of security printing, supply and delivery, installation, testing and commissioning of equipment and personalization of Electronic Machine-Readable Travel Documents (eMRTDs) on August 27, 2019, with 45 days deadline.

The deadline for the bid submission was extended till Friday. It is unclear how many bids have been submitted.

International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) has already issued a directive saying that no country will be issuing MRP to its citizens on/from 2025 and therefore, all countries need to streamline their passport office to issue E-passport henceforth.