Ecuador’s Roberto Cavanna heads up UPU union for Americas, Spain and Portugal
Former director general of Correos de Ecuador has become the new chief of the Universal Postal Union’s regional union for the Americas and the Iberian Peninsula. Roberto Cavanna Merchán was sworn in as the new secretary general of the Postal Union of the Americas, Spain and Portugal this month, with his term set to run until at least 2017.
He succeeds Serrana Bassini Casco, who came to the end of her term after eight years heading up the UPUI restricted union based in Montevideo, Uruguay.
Paying tribute to Bassini, who was elected to her position in 2005 and re-elected in 2009, the PUASP said her tenure had been characterised by work towards the development of the postal sector in the region based on principles of solidarity, integration and cooperation.
The intergovernmental organisation said during the past eight years major projects have focused on reforming the postal sector, improving service quality and promoting innovative services related to new information and communication technologies.
Cavanna was elected to head up PUASP at its last Congress, in Havana last September.
Cavanna said during his inauguration that his goal was to push for the development of the postal sector by listening to the needs of the organization’s members – the 28 member governments of Latin American countries, Spain and Portugal.
“The General Secretariat of PUASP will work with, by and for governments – governments are the arm of the postal sector in each country, so we will focus our work to maintain constant dialogue with senior government officials,” he said.
Priorities
New PUASP secretary-general Roberto Cavanna at his inauguration this month
The government of Ecuador, which put Cavanna forward for the leadership of PUASP last year, said the “important” role would promote the common objectives of the member countries with regard to postal issues, particularly regarding modernisation through implementation of individual, bilateral and collective projects.
Cavanna’s work plan is based on four areas of management, starting with strengthening the relationships between member countries through technical cooperation and standardising processes to improve service quality and postal security in the region.
He also aims to promote the postal sector’s role in providing financial services, pushing new products and services in the market including e-commerce services, payment services and others, to promote efficiency and competitiveness.
Cavanna’s other priorities include promoting sustainable development policies – including economic, social and environmental aspects – and strengthening governmental cooperation, to lobby governments on the importance of the postal sector to their economies.
