Remarks by Director General Bishar A. Hussein, London, United Kingdom, 23 - 25 October 2014
The CCPA, to me, is a coming together of friends, and I am pleased to be able to attend this year’s event in London.
As a Kenyan and part of the Commonwealth, I am also delighted to see the recognition from the Commonwealth itself, with the attendance of the Secretary General, His Excellency Kamalesh Sharma.
I am also glad that CCPA has based its agenda on the current thinking of the UPU’s Strategic Plan 2016-2020.
As you know, the UPU Strategy Conference had to be postponed due to the unfortunate Ebola health issue in West Africa. However, the work on the strategy goes on and will be discussed at the forthcoming CA in Bern later this month.
In the meantime, the working structure of the International Bureau, under the headings of innovation, integration and inclusion, is a good way of defining our activities as part of the strategy development.
It is good to see that the CCPA will also adopt this structure in its work over the next few days. This reflects the ever closer working relationship developing between the UPU and CCPA.
This relationship was formally cemented by the UPU-CCPA memorandum of understanding signed in June 2012. This MOU has already begun to bear fruit in joint projects.
CCPA agreed to fund two scholarships for courses at the Caribbean Postal Training Institute, a project which reflects how a national Government—in this case, Barbados—and inter-governmental organisations like the UPU can work together to enhance public sector capability. I look forward to further cooperation and more projects benefitting CCPA member posts.
Challenges facing the Posts include lack of power and internet connectivity, which are crucial for efficient and modern postal services.
For Africa, which has one of the biggest membership of the Commonwealth, the UPU has financed a study on power supply and Internet connectivity and is working with the African Union, the Pan African Postal Union and other stakeholders to solve this problem through fundraising. We shall invite you to the donors’ conference to be organised in the near future and we look forward to your participation.
The CCPA mission statement includes three key objectives, which are, of course, complementary:
First, to support the initiatives of its members through the free sharing of experience and best practice. This was one of CCPA’s original aims when it formed as long ago as 1971. Yesterday’s workshop on postal security and customs—sponsored by Royal Mail—was a splendid example of how CCPA members can support each other particularly in these two fast-moving areas, given both that security is becoming a greater concern for all of us and that we need to respond positively to the demands of the exponential growth in Internet trading.
Secondly, to support the aims and values of the Commonwealth, which rests at the heart of CCPA’s activities.
Thirdly, and by no means least, to support the aims and values of the UPU and, in this respect, the UPU greatly values our relationship with our friends and colleagues within CCPA.
Finally, I would like to thank Royal Mail for organising this event and wish you all a successful CCPA 2014.
Together, I am certain that we can do a lot for the postal fraternity.