The UN specialized agency for postal development will be guided by a new vision and direction for 2026-2029, as decided by member countries attending the organization’s 28th Universal Postal Congress in Dubai.
Member countries adopted the UPU’s Strategy (2026-2029) and its associated roadmap, the Dubai Business Plan, at the Congress committee session overseeing general policy and the management of the work of the Union.The committee was chaired by New Zealand, represented by Lindsay Welsh, Director of International Postal Policy and Regulation at New Zealand Post.
“The truly significant pieces of work that we addressed were the UPU Strategy, the Dubai Business Plan, refining and agreeing the domain work proposals and endorsing and proposing the budgetary ceiling. These together lay out a real future for us (as a sector) and a future for our Union,” said Welsh.
Together, the strategy and business plan strive to position the postal network as the partner of choice for the delivery of e-commerce and customer-centric postal services.
New targets
Resulting from extensive consultation over the past two years, the strategy proposes a new vision for the UPU, targeting its role in building a society that is interconnected, inclusive and sustainable, empowered by a seamless, innovative postal network. It is guided by three strategic goals.
The first of three direction-setting goals seeks to leverage the UPU’s single postal territory – comprising the postal networks of 192 member countries – through an effective, rules-based system. This would see the UPU, as the primary forum for postal dialogue at a global level, build continued momentum for multilateral frameworks, knowledge sharing, defining best practices and forging partnerships to ensure an even more cohesive and interconnected postal network.
The second goal strives to strengthen the sector through innovations that better position its role in trade and communication, having the UPU focus on helping its member countries to adopt new technologies and forge partnerships to develop modern, customer-focused postal products and services.
The third goal aims to drive postal development through enhanced cooperation and regionalization of its work, including a strengthened UPU regional presence and technical assistance activities carried out in collaboration with regional postal unions.
The Dubai Business Plan translates the strategic goals for 2026 to 2029 into actionable, results-focused work proposals with targeted activities and measurable outcomes. This includes programmes of work on modernizing postal products, improving quality of service, postal network digitalization, cybersecurity, postal policy and regulation, development cooperation and more.
One of the key aspects of the strategy and business plan is in ensuring the post continues to drive forward work on sustainability in the sector, strengthening its role as a resilient and inclusive services provider for all.
The new strategy adopts a comprehensive results-based management approach to the work of the UPU that will be tracked and overseen by the UPU’s decision-making bodies: the Council of Administration and the Postal Operations Council.