Speech by President of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia Dr. Mulatu Teshome at the opening ceremony of the Second UPU Extraordinary Congress, 3 September 2018
Honourable Ministers,
Distinguished Delegates,
Dear participants,
Ladies and gentlemen,
It gives me great pleasure to extend to you all a very warm welcome on behalf of the Government of Ethiopia and indeed on my own behalf. It is a great opportunity to be here at this gathering for this important Second UPU Extraordinary Congress 2018, and meet participants who have travelled thousands of miles all the way from various countries to attend this valuable Congress. It is my sincere hope your stay so far was comfortable and I wish you all a joyful and pleasant stay for the duration of the Congress and beyond, in Addis Ababa, the capital city of Ethiopia and seat of the African Union.
Allow me to extend my appreciation to the Universal Postal Union, for their joint effort in convening this conference, and also for choosing Ethiopia as the venue of the conference. It is indeed an outstanding honour for my country to host this large and diverse group of people that have come from different parts of the world. At this moment, I would like to thank you all, who had made the decision to realize this important global event in Addis Ababa; the employees of the Ministry of Communication and Information Technology, the Ethiopian Postal Service Enterprise, the members of National and Main organizing committee of the Congress, who completed the entire preparatory works; the entire UPU secretariat, especially secretary General H. E. Bishar Hussein; and all those who have put in their efforts.
I would like to recall you the resolution C 28/2016, the Istanbul Congress decided to hold a Second Extraordinary Congress in 2018, with the aim of addressing various issues relating to the current and future World Postal Strategy as well as other urgent postal sector matters. More specifically, the Second Extraordinary Congress is being convened as part of ongoing efforts to reform the UPU, with a view to improving and speeding up decision-making processes within the organization and ensuring its financial sustainability.
Distinguished Delegates,
Dear participants,
Ladies and gentlemen,
I am pleased that this Congress is the second of its kind since the First Extraordinary Congress which was held in Berne, Switzerland in July 1900, over a hundred years ago, and Ethiopia is delighted and proud to host this Extraordinary Congress because we will be the first African nation to organize such a major event which is of a paramount importance to the improvement of UPU.
The agenda for Addis Ababa is one of the most important in UPU’s long history and the Congress can lay the foundation for a better future for the global postal network. The Agenda is also mainly appropriate for our continent Africa, to improve our quality of service to the population of the continent, to cope up with the modernized postal Industry, and to participate in the development of the new strategies to the sector. Therefore, the Extraordinary Congress is about completing the work that started in the cycle leading to Istanbul, and, hopefully, about reaching a consensus among member countries on the outcomes of that work.
Distinguished Delegates and Invited Guests,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
My Government recognizes the vital role of the postal sector in the economy, social well being of the people and its potential contribution to the development as a whole. In this regard, the government of Ethiopia has given due attention to the Postal Sector Reforms to grant the Ethiopian Postal Service adequate Management autonomy to ensure that it remains strong competitive enterprise. Consequently, the government action is supposed to enable the proper distribution of postal service to all part of the country to guarantee the citizen with affordable, reliable, and efficient postal services. The postal service plays its share in meeting the Government objective in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals integrated into our National Plan for Acceleration of Development to End Poverty by expanding the postal infrastructure and providing various services through the facilitation of trade and commerce, education, and development of financial services. Further to its alignment of the Program of Universal Postal Union, Integrated Postal Development is also aligned with our Country’s Growth and Transformation Plan. Among the main Strategies of our Information and Communication, the Expansion of Excellent Quality Postal Service to the Rural Society, Modernizing of the Postal Sector, Creating Financial Inclusion with a fair price to the Unbanked Society are some of the Crucial Elements which our Government is focusing on.
Distinguished Delegates and Invited Guests,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
As the Second UPU Extraordinary Congress 2018, which is being held here in Addis Ababa, is one of the important events of the Universal Postal Union that has brought together a decision makers from all over the world Postal Sectors, including Postal sector Ministries, Regulators, and Operators, I believe that it will come up with important decisions on the major issues. I am confident that, at the end of this Congress, we shall all be equipped with deep insight and experience which could be of great help to change Universal Postal Union and consequently our respective postal service in satisfying our customer’s needs and expectations. We are definitely sure that the Congress decisions will be of great importance to reform, improve and ensure the sustainability of Universal Postal Union.
I believe, the Topics of the Second Extraordinary Congress covers some complex and politically difficult issues. However, member countries recognize that they are critical to the UPU’s future, ongoing relevance, and sustainability. Accordingly, there is an imperative to agree on this matter and they will come up with viable strategies for sustainable Postal Sector Environment. The Congress enable Member States and other Postal stakeholders with the unique opportunity to raise Postal awareness and to share and learn from each other new ideas, methods, and strategies to support local, regional and global Postal initiatives.
Hence, I call upon all the participants of this Second UPU Extraordinary Congress Participants to actively engage in the discussions comprising fully of eminent keynote speakers as indicated in the very well-crafted agenda for the next Five days. It is my pleasure again to wish you productive and invigorating discussions enriched with actionable recommendations that will raise the visibility and appreciation of the Postal Sector in all the economic and social sectors of our Planet. I also wish you a pleasant and enjoyable stay in Addis Ababa, the Diplomatic Capital of Africa.
In conclusion, allow me to thank the Universal Postal Union for choosing Ethiopia to host this crucial meeting, and once again, on behalf of the Government of Ethiopia, I would like to welcome you all to Ethiopia and wish you a productive and successful Congress that produces significant outcomes which will promote the development of postal service.
I thank you for your attention.