UPU to host international conference for the postal sector
As part of ongoing efforts to reinforce its position as a worldwide postal forum, the International Bureau of the Universal Postal Union plans to bring together senior representatives of the postal sector to discuss the major challenges facing the industry, in a number of conferences to be held during 2006 and 2007.
A one-day meeting exploring the development models that some of the world’s more modern and innovative Posts have adopted in response to growing competition and increased market liberalization will kick off the series in April. Participants will discuss such topics as postal sector investment, initial public offerings, public/private partnerships, and the alliances formed by certain Posts with a view to international expansion and strategic positioning for the future.
Some of the postal sector’s top CEOs and experts have been invited to take part, including Edouard DAYAN, UPU Director General; Peter BAKKER, CEO of TPG; Helge ISRAELSEN, CEO of Post Danmark; H.E. Abdulla Ibrahim AL DABOOS, Director General of Emirates Post; and Pierre GUISLAIN, Manager of the World Bank Group’s Information and Communication Technologies Policy Division. Representatives of business banks and investment funds, such as CVC Capital Partners Ltd., Morgan STANLEY, UBS, Credit Suisse and Merrill LYNCH, will also be present.
“With the creation, at the 2004 Bucharest Congress, of the Consultative Committee, representing postal sector members other than public operators and regulators, the Universal Postal Union has truly become a worldwide forum for the industry” says Daniel LE GOFF, the UPU’s External Stakeholder Relations Coordinator. “The UPU wants to use this new role to foster greater discussion and exchange among these members, explore best practices and find solutions to some of the important issues they face today, as well as highlighting the postal sector’s economic and social role in the ever-evolving world of communications”.
The UPU expects the one-day conference to attract up to 200 participants. It will take place at UPU headquarters in Berne on 28 April 2006.
Another conference on postal regulation is planned for 30 June 2006. In addition, UPU headquarters will be playing host to the annual sessions of the Postal Operations Council, from 27 March to 7 April, and the Council of Administration, from 9 to 20 October. The UPU Strategy Conference will be taking place in Dubai from 14 to 16 November 2006.
