Emirates Post celebrates World Post Day

The function was attended by H.E. Sultan Saeed Al Mansouri, Minister of Public Sector Development, and H.E. Dr. Hanif Hassan, Minister of Education, in the presence of senior officials of Ministry of Education and Emirates Post.

Speaking on the occasion, Mr. Abdullah Al Daboos, Director General, Emirates Post, said: 'The World Post Day is a major event on the annual postal calendar. Ever since 22 countries assembled in Berne, Switzerland, to form UPU, 132 years ago, the Union has played a pivotal role in international postal affairs, formulating laws to ensure freedom in postal matters and fostering financial and cultural links between the member countries.'

Mr. Salem Al Shaya, Assistant Director General, Operations, Emirates Post, read out the World Post Day message of Mr. Edouard Dayan, Director General of UPU, who highlighted the relevance of universal postal service.

'We must not overlook the ability of universal service to contribute to the economic efficiency of a country, and of the whole world, at a time when new technologies and the Internet are helping postal operators to improve existing services or develop new ones.'

Mr. Dayan cited the case of the worldwide distribution of the latest Harry Potter novel, of which over 2.5 million copies, all ordered via the Internet, were delivered by various postal services as soon as it was launched, making it the biggest ever postal delivery, on a single day, of identical articles ordered over the Internet. Could this endeavour have been possible without universal postal coverage? Universal postal service is a key facilitator of trade between countries, or between regional economic blocs. Without postal services, commercial sites like Amazon or eBay might never have had the success they enjoy today,' Mr. Dayan added.

The function concluded with the distribution of prizes and certificates to the winners and participants of the UPU International Letter Writing Competition for Young People on endangered species and Emirates Post's competition on stamp designing for school children. Supervisors and teachers of participating schools were also given certificates of appreciation.