EMBASSY, CONSULATE OFFICIALS VISIT KATOWICE AIRPORT

June 14, 2007

Officials of the US Embassy in Warsaw and the US Consulate General in Krakow meet with Polish immigration authorities at the Katowice-Pyrzowice International Airport

Officials of the US Embassy in Warsaw and the US Consulate General in Krakow met with Polish immigration authorities at the Katowice-Pyrzowice International Airport on Thursday, June 14th to discuss the Polish Government's new initiatives to implement state-of-the-art biometric passports and electronic immigration control procedures.  Consul General Lisa Piascik from the Embassy in Warsaw and Consul Stephen Barneby from the Consulate General in Krakow met with Colonel Konrad Bialoszewski, Ministry of Internal Affairs and Administration and Mr. Pawel Krystek, Head of the Information and Communication Department, Silesian Border Guard Unit to learn about these new developments.  The Polish Government is developing sophisticated passports with imbedded electronic chips, as well as associated computer software to track them at its Ports of Entry.  The International Airport at Katowice is part of an extensive project to test the efficiency of this new technology.