Covering the 25th Universal Postal Congress

Plenipotentiaries of the Universal Postal Union’s 192 member countries, ministers, regulators, postal chief executive officers, representatives of United Nations and international organizations and other stakeholders will attend the 25th Universal Postal Congress in Doha, Qatar, from 24 September to 15 October 2012. Decision-makers will take stock of the state of the global postal sector and decide on its future.

Members of the media are cordially invited to attend Congress by completing the accreditation form and making your travel and hotel arrangements as soon as possible.

Why attend?

Posts worldwide are facing major challenges and opportunities in the wake of a global economic crisis and as a technological revolution transforms the communication industry. Changing consumer habits, increased competition, liberalization, evolving communication needs and technological innovations are all shaping the changing nature of the postal business, a public service that touches the daily lives of billions of citizens and businesses.

Congress is expected to adopt the Doha Postal Strategy, the UPU’s future roadmap, and will examine hundreds of proposals on the UPU’s future work and activities, major initiatives, and rules governing international mail exchanges.

First ministerial conference                                                                             

On 8 October, the UPU is organizing a ministerial conference where high-level government representatives will express their views on the impact of technology on communication, how the postal sector can foster economic and social inclusion, and what the future holds for postal services.

Confirmed speakers include Mr Corrado Passera, Italy’s minister of economic development, Her Royal Highness Princess Máxima of the Netherlands, the UN secretary general's special advocate for inclusive finance for development, Ms Anna Tibajuka, Tanzania’s minister of lands, housing and human settlements development, Tatsuo Kawabata, Japan’s minister for internal affairs and communications, Mr Paulo Bernardo Silva, Brazil’s minister of communications, Mr Patrick Donahoe, U.S. postmaster general, and many more. The debates, moderated by David Foster, senior news anchor at Al Jazeera English, promise to be lively and insightful. 

On 10 October, member countries will elect a new director general and deputy director general of the UPU to replace France’s Edouard Dayan and China’s Guozhong Huang, who are completing their second mandate at the end of 2012.

These are only some of the highlights of the 25th Universal Postal Congress. Stay tuned on this website for developments.