“As leaders of the postal sector, we look forward to your guidance, insights and your vision of the future of our industry,” UPU’s Director General Bishar A. Hussein said today.

The UPU Head said the adoption of new technology and changing consumer needs had impacted the postal business. “Innovation and rollout of new products and services have been key to finding new business opportunities for the post. This is more so because the traditional business of the Post is diminishing,” he noted.

Mr. Hussein, who serves as Secretary-General at the Congress, was speaking to ministers in charge of the postal sector, regulatory chiefs of regulatory authorities, heads of intergovernmental agencies and other high-level representatives of organizations at the opening of the Ministerial Strategy Conference in Addis Ababa.

In her own address at the opening, the Ethiopian Minister of Communication and Information Technology, Ubah Mohammed Hussien said the Ethiopian government viewed postal infrastructure as a critical tool for development and had a vital role to play in promoting regional infrastructure. She went on to say that the Ministerial Strategy Conference was an opportunity for all those in involved in the postal sector to share experience and knowledge.   

The Conference is being held as part of UPU’s Second Extraordinary Congress and is titled, “Gearing up the postal sector to drive socio-economic development.” Over the two days of the conference four panel sessions, involving high profile speakers from 35 countries, will be held on effective policies, encouraging investments, regulation, and partnerships.

With a global network of over 600,000 post offices, 5.3 million staff and physical infrastructure covering 192 countries, the postal sector is a key contributor to national and international infrastructure and plays an important role in national development and in the attainment of the 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda.

The Universal Postal Union is a UN specialized agency with its headquarters in the Swiss capital Berne. Established in 1874, it is one of the world’s oldest international organizations and is the primary forum for cooperation between postal sector players.