External Affairs Department of the Velocity Interoperability Network Established

The External Affairs Department of the Velocity Interoperability Network has been formally established. The Department is responsible for the conduct of the Network's relations with bodies outside it, for the representations the Network maintains beyond its boundaries, for consular assistance to citizens of the Network abroad, and for the register of agreements concluded with external bodies.

With its establishment complete, the Department today launches its official website at foreign.gov.vin. The site carries press releases and official statements, the register of the Network's representations, guidance on consular services and travel advice for citizens travelling beyond the boundaries of the Network.

Before establishment, relations with bodies outside the Network were conducted separately by each member organisation. Between 10 August and 5 September 2026 those functions, together with the instruments already concluded and the consular cases then open, were transferred to the Department. Eleven instruments were in force on the register at establishment and 612 consular cases had been handled under the interim arrangements.

The opening of the Network's seven representations, the standards to which consular assistance is provided and the Department's first statistical release are the subject of separate announcements published today. General enquiries may be sent to contact@foreign.gov.vin.