06/16/15

Regional Strategy Conference for Europe and CIS

Opening speech by UPU Director General Bishar A. Hussein, Minsk, Belarus, 16 - 17 June 2015

During the recent UPU World Strategy Conference held in Geneva, we were told that the UPU and Posts must undergo fundamental transformation if they are to remain relevant. We were advised to embrace change very fast.

My transformational “Vision 2020” for the UPU is based on three pillars, known as the three “I”s — innovation, integration and inclusion. The Deputy Director General and myself, supported by the entire management team of the IB, are firmly convinced that the future UPU strategy will be built on these three pillars, which will enable us to keep pace with the changes in the postal environment.

Various topical issues encompassed by Vision 2020 were discussed and debated, and the conclusions roundly endorsed by the nine panel discussions that took place during the mid-term strategy conference.

We are now taking the vision to the seven regional round tables, to enrich it with your unique perspectives. The final results will be submitted to the UPU Council of Administration in October.

Allow me to expound on the three “I”s:

Innovation: together, we will embrace innovation, take advantage of new technologies, develop new business models, and come up with modern products and services that meet the needs and expectations of the dynamic current and future markets.

Integration: together with our external partners and stakeholders, we will build a seamless, fully integrated universal postal supply chain. We will bring down the barriers to cross-border postal deliveries through the enhanced UPU ECOMPRO programme and other solutions.

Inclusion: together, we will deliver sustainable communication services, promote economic, financial and social inclusion, and provide universal services that support the inclusivity agenda of our member states and the sustainable development programmes of the UN.

This regional strategy conference will therefore help to shape the future roadmap for the postal sector, to be implemented in the Istanbul Congress cycle. The main objectives of this conference are to:

  • Evaluate the degree of implementation of the Doha Postal Strategy;
  • Gather regional viewpoints on the future UPU strategy;
  • Discuss and identify particular needs of the region to be taken into account in the Istanbul World Postal Strategy; and
  • Define the priority areas to be incorporated into development cooperation activities for the 2017–2020 cycle.

My message to governments, regulatory authorities, designated postal operators, partners and customers is that the UPU and Posts will reinvent themselves to deliver innovative, integrated and inclusive development solutions, and will remain relevant now and into the future.

I wish to underline the remarkable progress made by the UPU International Bureau, in collaboration with this region, in implementing many projects and programmes developed since the Doha Congress, in various spheres of the postal business. Numerous projects and programmes have been completed, and others are in the pipeline. My colleague, Andrei Soudakov, will give you a complete update.

The future UPU strategy will be ineffective unless it is accompanied by a fundamental transformation and review of the UPU organs to provide quick decision-making processes that enable more flexible responses to the changing needs of customers and markets.

The International Bureau, in consultation with the Union councils, will prepare a comprehensive proposal for changes to the governing rules and regulations of the Union bodies. I look forward to your involvement and support.

It is my conviction that this regional strategy conference will be no less successful than the two preceding ones in Africa and Latin America. I look forward to fruitful deliberations over the next two days.