UPU project to be extended in Latin America

After last year’s successful launch of a UPU money-transfer service between the Posts of Spain, Chile and Uruguay, nine new Latin American countries are set to join the project. The directors general of the Posts of Argentina, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Mexico, Nicaragua and Peru pledged their commitment during a workshop in San José, Costa Rica, in September.

Guatemala was an observer at the workshop, also attended by postal representatives from Spain, Chile and Uruguay, pioneers of the service launched in July 2008.

The new project, part of the UPU’s regional development plan for the area, has two pillars: ensuring that the operational, legal, financial and technological frameworks are in place on the ground; and defining a system of compensation for the participating countries.

The workshop was organised jointly by the UPU and the Postal Union of the Americas, Spain and Portugal. UPU director general Edouard Dayan was on hand to help launch the regional project, which relies on the Union’s international financial network.

For years the UPU has been helping its member countries and their postal operators to set up affordable and accessible electronic money-transfer services that meet the needs of consumers, especially migrant workers.

During his visit to Costa Rica, the UPU’s director general also met with a number of dignitaries to discuss postal reform and development. They included the president of Costa Rica, Óscar Arias Sánchez, the country’s foreign minister, Bruno Stagno, and members of the national parliament.