Riyadh Governor Prince Salman has his picture taken for his new electronic identity card. (AN photos by Fahd Shidayid)

RIYADH, 17 May 2004 — ID cards do not differentiate between a prince and an ordinary citizen, Riyadh Governor Prince Salman said during the launch of the new electronic identity card at the Civil Affairs Department here Saturday.

Prince Salman told reporters after the launch that the card’s security features made forgery difficult but urged all citizens to keep their ID safe.

He reiterated a government warning not to deposit ID cards as guarantee for goods or services such as hire-purchase agreements.

The governor said Riyadh’s Civil Affairs Department was ready to handle the logistics of issuing ID cards to all Saudis in the region, which latest figures show have crossed five million. The new IDs will eventually become available all over the Kingdom.

The launch of the service was delayed earlier this year “because of a technical hitch,” according to the Ministry of the Interior.

“The new ID is designed to provide more services to citizens than the previous one and contains a lot of information,” the governor said.

As the prince was shown around the production facility, Nasser ibn Hamad Al-Hanaya, the assistant deputy minister for civil affairs, claimed the Kingdom “was one of the first countries to issue ID cards” 20 years ago.