The first UPU Congress in Africa will take place in Ethiopia from September 3 – 7, 2018, the Universal Postal Union announced yesterday.
The UPU and the government of Ethiopia signed an agreement on 8 March for the hosting of the 2018 UPU Extraordinary Congress in Addis Ababa. The event will take place midway between the last regular Congress, held in Istanbul in October 2016, and the next one, scheduled for Abidjan (Ivory Coast) in 2020.
UPU Director General Bishar A. Hussein signed the agreement with Ethiopia’s State Minister for Information and Communication Technology, Hon. Efrah Ali Musa. The signing ceremony was witnessed by senior officials from the Ethiopian government and also from the International Bureau of the UPU.
Hon. Musa thanked the UPU for choosing Addis Ababa to host the Union’s premier event and pledged that Ethiopia would provide all the necessary facilities to ensure the success of the Congress.
“We believe the Union, through its convened members, noted well our nation’s ever-increasing capacity to host international conventions of great significance. We are grateful for this,” she said.
Hussein thanked Ethiopia for accepting to host the Congress on behalf the UPU membership, which he said would be the first on the continent of Africa.
“I am particularly delighted that Ethiopia accepted to be the first country to host what we propose to be a permanent Mid Term Congress in the calendar of UPU. This is great support by Ethiopia to the UPU’s reform programme that is aimed at facilitating faster decision making for postal administrations in the face of changing market realities,” the UPU chief said.
Meanwhile, the UPU will hold an exclusive CEO Forum in Istanbul between 9-10 May 2018, hosted by Turkish Post, under the heading: "Postal digital dividends: A new portfolio, better performance or a redefined mission?". Participants will discuss postal market trends, the ‘ideal postal portfolio’, ‘redefining the USO’ and other relevant topics.
