Over 600 delegates to converge in Dubai for Universal Postal Union Strategy Conference 2006

The conference, hosted by Emirates Post, is being held under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, UAE Vice-President and Prime Minister, and Ruler of Dubai.

The high-level meeting, held every four years, will attract participants from more than 130 countries including over 40 government ministers, several heads of United Nations and international organizations, as well as representatives from the private sector.

Abdulla Al Daboos, Director General of Emirates Post, will act as Chairman of the Strategy Conference that will be attended by His Excellency Sultan Saeed Al Mansouri, UAE Minister for Government Sector Development and Chairman of Emirates Post; Honorable Mutahi Kagwe, Minister for Information and Communications in Kenya, and His Excellency Alpha Oumar Konaré, Chairman of the African Union Commission.

The UPU Strategy Conference will analyze current issues and challenges that confront the global postal sector. It will also explore ways of building a dynamic postal infrastructure worldwide to cater to growing customer needs.

Edouard Dayan, Director General of the UPU said: 'The UPU Strategy Conference will be the cornerstone of the Nairobi World Postal Strategy. This international gathering, held mid-way between two Congresses, will enable us to bring together all sector stakeholders, including governments and international organizations, especially those belonging to the United Nations, to discuss the issues that will shape the next World Postal Strategy.'

The World Postal Strategy is a four-year inter-Congress roadmap for the postal sector. The Congress is the UPU's supreme authority. The next World Postal Strategy will be adopted at the 2008 Universal Postal Congress in Nairobi.

The conference will be attended by Sergei Ordzhonikidze, Director General of the United Nations Office at Geneva; Alan Bryden, Secretary General of the International Organization for Standardization; Brunson McKinley, Director General of the International Organization for Migration. Pascal Lamy, Director General of the World Trade Organization will be the keynote speaker.

Globalization, movements of population, increased usage of new technologies, competition, customer requirements, the role of the postal sector in the information society, postal reform and the transformation of the postal sector are among the many topics that will be addressed at the conference.