The UPU held its first Arab Postal Leaders Forum in Muscat, Oman, from 12 to 14 February 2024. Several members of the Consultative Committee – Beyon Connect, e-Boks, ISITEC, Ship2MyID and Geomain – sponsored and participated in the event. The CC had a strong presence during the three busy days of networking and discussions around the theme “Arab Posts: On track towards digital transformation and innovation”.
CC Vice-Chair Santosh Gopal during panel 2 "E-commerce, the driving force behind digital transformation in Posts".
Mr Santosh Gopal, CC Vice-Chair and CEO of Ship2MyID, had the opportunity to exchange with prestigious guests, Mr Anef Bin Ahmed Abanomai, CEO of Saudi Post, and Mr Ibrahim bin Sultan Alhosni, Acting CEO of Oman Post, during panel 2 on “E-commerce, the driving force behind digital transformation in Posts”. After the panel, ISITEC showcased its capabilities and provided important details about how it complied with the digitalization requirements of different national postal operators, through the examples of Oman and Tunisia, where ISITEC implemented their sortation solutions.
CC Vice-Chair Santosh Gopal during panel 2 "E-commerce, the driving force behind digital transformation in Posts".
Rohan Mathur, Alper Ünal, and Dan Turcu behind ISITEC's stand.
Fatema Awadh and CEO Christian Rasmussen, Beyon Connect.
Geomain CEO Sol Alavi during the "Innovation Partnerships" session.
E-Boks presented its digital post box platform as a solution to the challenges raised during panel 1 on “The digital economy and the postal sector”, and Dr Anders Ørding Olsen, e-Bok’s Chief Commercial Officer and Head of Strategy, sat as a panellist on panel 4 entitled “Digital transformation enablers”, alongside the CC Chair, Mr Walter Trezek.
CC Chair Walter Trezek and Anders Ørding Olsen, e-Boks CCO, with UPU PTC Director Lati Matata during panel 4 "Digital transformation enablers"
Lastly, Mr Trezek moderated the CEO round table. Only three CEOs had initially been invited to participate in the round table, but 10 additional CEOs joined. The CC Chair asked each of the 13 designated operators about their respective drivers for digital transformation and diversification of services in the region. One of the CEOs, Mr Amin Benjelloun Touimi of Poste Maroc, briefly introduced the postal prosperity zone pilot project and explained how it aligned with Poste Maroc’s strategy to digitalize its logistics, numeric and financial activities. He further emphasized the project’s importance for the global postal sector by presenting it as the main solution to the loss of volumes witnessed by national Posts in recent years.
On the last evening, the CC celebrated its successful participation in the Arab Postal Leaders Forum with a CC reception. Mr Saeed bin Hamoud bin Saaed Al Maawali, Oman’s Minister of Transport, Communications and Information Technology, Mr Sayyid Nasr AlBusaidi, Chief Postmaster General of Oman Post, and the CC Chair all gave concluding speeches to close the forum. Among the myriad of guests at the reception – including CC members, CEOs of Posts, regulators and private companies from the wider postal sector – were a number of UPU International Bureau representatives, namely, Mr Mutua Muthusi, Director of Development and Cooperation, Mr Lati Matata, Director of the Postal Technology Centre, and Mr Hashim Elhaj, Coordinator for the Arab Region.
Consultative Committee Reception in Oman.