Postal Professionals Gather for Forum in St. Petersburg
The growing competition that traditional postal services face against new information technologies, the liberalization of the industry and its survival in the internet era are all topics set to be discussed in St. Petersburg starting Tuesday, when postal industry professionals from around the world gather at the Pochtovaya Troika event.
The postal industry forum, which ends Thursday, is held every two years and this year, organizers say, the event will be particularly significant for the industry as it is held between two important international events — the Strategic Conference in Dubai of the year 2006 and the Nairobi Congress — scheduled for 2008.
The forum’s program is planned in such a way as to become a logical follow-up to discussions and debates that are expected to start during the Strategic Conference in Dubai; in addition, it is a part of the communication plan of the Strategic Planning Group of the UPU, chaired by the Russian Federation, the website continues.
For the first time, this year the forum will become “strategic,” which will be reflected in the event’s agenda, Russian Minister for Information Technologies and Communications Leonid Reiman — due to take part in the forum’s opening ceremony — said in a welcome note to guests and participants of Pochtovaya Troika.
With the development of new information technologies including the internet, communication through the means of the simple letter has increasingly become a thing of the past. But contrary to the popular belief that the post service will be obsolete in the foreseeable future, industry experts are positive and say postal services will always find a market.
