HH Sheikh Maktoum Bin Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum opens UPU Strategy Conference 2006

It is the first time the UPU conference has been held outside Switzerland, where the organization is headquartered.

Over 1,000 postal decision makers and experts from over 130 countries are attending the conference to chart a new strategy for global postal services.

Among the illustrious audience attending the opening were over 40 ministers from UPU member countries and a large number of high profile delegations from postal corporations.

Several heads of United Nations and international organizations, as well as representatives from the private sector, will discuss issues affecting today's postal sector. Their deliberations will shape the World Postal Strategy to be adopted at the 2008 Universal Postal Congress in Nairobi. The World Postal Strategy is a four-year inter-Congress roadmap for the postal sector.

In his opening address, H.E. Sultan Bin Saeed Al Mansouri, UAE Minister for Government Sector Development and Chairman of Emirates Post said the UAE was honoured to host such a huge gathering of postal decision-makers, which would further consolidate the UAE's position on the world map as the venue for world-class events.

He expressed the hope that the assembling of so many experts under one roof would lead to solutions that will give a new direction to postal services worldwide.

Commending the UPU for playing a major role in fostering cooperation among the 191 member countries, Al Mansouri said: "The UPU has been actively promoting the faster movement of mail at affordable rates and helping members raise standards by adopting new systems and technology."

Abdullah Al Daboos, Director General, Emirates Post said the region's postal organizations would benefit greatly from the UPU Strategy Conference.

Referring to Emirates Post growth plans, he said it had created a new roadmap for development and succeeded in launching many pioneering products and projects.

"Aided by technology, we aim to be one of the leading postal corporations worldwide. The hosting of this conference is just one example of our ambitious strategy," Daboos said.

The UPU Strategy Conference will lay the foundations for the Nairobi World Postal Strategy Congress, said Edouard DAYAN, Director General of the UPU. "This international gathering enables us to bring together all sector stakeholders, including governments and international organizations, especially those belonging to the United Nations, to discuss - in an open environment - the questions that will shape the next World Postal Strategy."

Key topics to be discussed are 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

Among the key participants are Sergei Ordzhonikidze, Director General of the United Nations Office at Geneva, Alan Bryden, Secretary General of the International Organization for Standardization, and Brunson McKinley, Director General of the International Organization for Migration are participating in the conference.

Pascal Lamy, Director General of the World Trade Organization, conveyed his message to the audience via satellite link. The Honorable Mutahi Kagwe, Minister for Information and Communications in Kenya, and His Excellency Alpha Oumar Konaré, Chairman of the African Union Commission, also took part in the opening session.

The UPU Strategy Conference is taking place against a backdrop of continuous upheaval in the communications sector and brings together the sector's decision-makers and partners to analyze the changing environment and explore ways of building a dynamic global infrastructure able to satisfy customer needs.