Weeks from the opening of a major ministerial conference organized by the Universal Postal Union on 8 October 2012 in Doha, Qatar, the UN specialized agency’s director general, Edouard Dayan, says it is important for governments to share their vision of the postal sector with a view to maintaining its role as a key motor of socioeconomic development and social cohesion.
“The Post is a powerful network reaching the public, and national authorities must look at how it can be used to respond to some of the issues they face today,” says Dayan, who leaves his post at the end of the year, after eight years at the top of the intergovernmental organization.
Exploring the future role of postal services will be a predominant theme of the ministerial conference, being held during the 25th Universal Postal Congress. About 20 ministers, heads of international and UN organizations and postal CEO have confirmed their participation as speakers.
Corrado Passera, Italy’s minister of economic development, infrastructure and transport and a former CEO of Poste Italiane, Cezar Alvarez, Brazil’s deputy minister of communication, Tatsuo Kawabata, Japan’s minister for internal affairs and communication, Nikolay A. Nikiforov, Russia’s minister of telecom and mass communications, and Ma Junsheng, director general of China’s State Post Bureau, join the line-up of high-level governmental officials who will take part in the conference.
Her Royal Highness the Princess Máxima of the Netherlands, the United Nations special advocate for inclusive finance for development, will deliver remarks via video link for a discussion on the postal sector’s role in fostering economic and social inclusion.
“Letter-post volumes are still an important revenue source, but they are declining. Posts must be innovative and diversify the business, and governments must give them the tools to do so,” says Dayan. “Several countries, including developing ones, are showing that a postal network that is adapted can be a formidable tool for developing trade, financial inclusion, social cohesion and solidarity,” he adds.
In Brazil, for example, small and medium-size businesses can more easily export goods through the Post thanks to a programme called Exporta Fácil. This programme has taken root in several other South American countries. In Japan, the Post was a vital communication link for victims after the March 2011 earthquake and part of aid distribution efforts.
In addition to exploring the impact of the technological revolution and its opportunities for the postal sector, the ministerial conference will look at the postal sector’s role in facilitating global trade, especially as e-commerce develops at warp-speed. According to a report by Interactive Media in Retail Group, total business-to-consumer e-commerce sales – estimated at 690 billion euros in 2011, are expected to pass the trillion-euro mark in 2013.
The conference will also explore the postal sector’s role in social and economic inclusion. Many Posts are increasingly moving into postal financial services as part of their diversification strategy. According to the latest UPU statistics, postal financial services account for more than 17 per cent of overall postal revenues, almost 4 per cent more than a decade ago. Some one billion people hold savings accounts in postal financial institutions.
More than 1,500 people have already registered for the 25th Universal Postal Congress that taking place from 24 September to 15 October 2012.