Speech by UPU Deputy Director General Pascal Clivaz on behalf of UPU Director General Bishar A. Hussein during the Council of Administration Plenary Session, Berne, Switzerland, 27 April 2018
Chairman of the CA, Mr Kenan Bozgeyik,
Vice-Chairmen of the CA,
The Director General, Mr. Bishar A. Hussein,
Members of the CA,
Heads of Delegations,
Distinguished Delegates and observers,
Dear Colleagues,
Ladies and gentlemen,
The Secretary General and myself warmly welcome you to this plenary of the Council of Administration Session 3.
Session 3 is the culmination of hard work to fulfil the mandates given by the Istanbul Congress to prepare for an Extraordinary Congress with specific terms of reference.
We wish to congratulate the various task forces, committees and groups that have been working for the last 18 months to achieve this mandate.
Since Monday, these groups have been meeting and deliberating on their focus areas to deliver the results that we shall be examining and making decisions on today. Thank you for these achievements.
We acknowledge with gratitude the success gained from the implementation of our set tasks, we will also be focusing on what remains outstanding and to look ahead at future opportunities.
We note with satisfaction the CA’s completion of 65 deliverables in both S1 and S2.
This is a tremendous result and I congratulate the Chair of the CA, its committees and direct report bodies for their hard work and commitment.
My thanks also to the IB Secretariat for their own efforts to support this heavy work load.
This being the last CA meeting before the Extraordinary Congress in September, it is important to take stock of the position of the proposals that will be discussed in Addis Ababa.
Some of these topics have been difficult to conclude with consensus, but we wish to commend members for the progress achieved so far.
It is our hope that the remaining areas of consensus on the topics will be addressed with time to allow Congress to make favourable decisions on them.
As we receive reports on the Integrated Product Plan and the Integrated Remuneration Plan, reform of the system applied to the contributions of member countries, reform of the Provident Scheme and reform of the Union, we urge you to focus on the benefits of these key subjects and the importance of having them approved in Addis Ababa.
As we continue addressing reforms in the various segments of our Union, we wish to call upon members to courageously support all our change initiatives for a better future for the UPU and postal systems.
We should be guided by the fact that we cannot achieve good results in an environment that is rapidly changing if we remain static.
Change is not only necessary, but inevitable. Change should be a permanent feature of our work.
Just as we are instituting reforms in our various businesses, let us come together to make this Union fit for purpose and in tune with the market.
We should never allow our Union to lose relevance because of a failure to respond to current and new market needs.
As you have seen in the risk analysis of the Union, the role and relevance of the UPU is still something that we need to address, especially in the future.
Members and other stakeholders want to see the Union adapting to new situations in the marketplace and continuing to be a source of competitive advantage for them.
To this end, three years ago the International Bureau launched an annual forum for chief executive officers of our designated operators to provide them with a platform to interact, know one another and share experiences and visions for their businesses.
Through these forums we have received good feedback from the industry captains about how the UPU can best collaborate with them to benefit their businesses.
Next year we plan to hold a Regulators’ Conference to enable members to share best practices in postal regulations.
Given the direction the postal business has taken, where new products and services have slowly been replacing our traditional businesses, it is interesting to see how regulators are reacting to the situation.
Moreover, the change of focus has found the Posts operating under the supervision of multiple regulators. It is important to come together and ensure the new set-up enhances our business and profitability.
During the Extraordinary Congress we will also host a Ministerial Strategy Conference to encourage our policy makers to discuss the future of our industry.
It is our strong desire to provide all our stakeholders with a forum where they can discuss adding value to our business.
Mr. Chairman,
Ethiopia and Côte D’Ivoire are here today to provide updates in the preparations for the September Extraordinary Congress and the 2020 Congress, respectively.
Under the leadership of myself, Deputy Director General, the IB is working closely with these Congress host countries to ensure we achieve good preparations for the two events.
As we have a long agenda of interesting items that may require considerable time, I wish to conclude my remarks here, Mr. Chairman.
On behalf of myself and the Secretary General, thank you for your kind attention.