Speech of UPU Director General Bishar A. Hussein during the opening of the 2018 UPU World CEO Forum, Istanbul, Turkey, 9 May 2018
Mr Ahmet Arslan, Minister of Transport and Communications, Republic of Turkey
Mr Kenan Bozgeyik, Director General, Turkish Post
Distinguished CEOs of designated postal operators
Dear speakers and participants
Ladies and gentlemen
Welcome to the third UPU World CEO Forum in this beautiful city of Istanbul. For many of us in the Post, Istanbul is becoming the preferred city for our serious business. We all have fond memories of Turkey’s gracious hosting of the 26th Universal Postal Congress in this very city.
I would like to extend my sincere gratitude to Mr Ahmet Arslan and Mr Kenan Bozgeyik for welcoming us back to Turkey and for making this year’s CEO Forum such a magnificent event.
Distinguished CEOs,
Allow me also to recognize the role played by the previous hosts of the forum; Mr Philippe Wahl, of La Poste Group, France who hosted the inaugural forum in Paris in 2016 and Mr Nikolay Podguzov, of Russian Post, who hosted us last year in Moscow. The two forums set the pace for this new initiative and we are glad that Istanbul, as expected, has set the bar very high with the provision of excellent facilities for this year’s forum. Looking at what is at our disposal here, one can't help but recall the good work that Turkey did for the 2016 UPU Congress
We at the UPU are very delighted that our CEOs of designated operators are continuously accepting our invitation to this event. The success of these forums and their ideals will depend a lot on your participation and support.
On our part, we pledge to keep improving the forum to make it true value for your money.
The UPU's reason for existence is to help define the postal industry and assist it grow and prosper. There is no better way to do this than to do it together with the main decision makers of the posts, the CEOs.
It is in furtherance of this fact that the UPU World CEO Forum was conceived. We wanted a forum where we could have a meeting of the captains of the industry and give them an opportunity to share ideas, network and even clinch business deals.
From the last two editions of the forum, we have seen the worth of this idea and we believe, with your support, that we can grow it even better.
This year’s forum comes just a few months to the UPU Extraordinary Congress and the Ministerial Strategy Conference in Addis Ababa. We will be keen to capture the direction in which you desire our industry to take for future growth and share these ideas with our ministers in Addis Ababa. This will be an opportunity for the CEOs to directly contribute to the designing of the future strategy for the Post.
Already from Paris to Moscow, you have told us that there is great need to reform our businesses and take advantage of the opportunities offered by modern technology to create new products for our market.
You have also told us that the success of the sector lies in seizing opportunities offered by the evolving market realities and growing e-commerce, big data, and financial services.
As you have seen, this year’s 2018 theme is Postal digital dividends: A new portfolio, better performance or a redefined mission? We look forward to benefitting from your interactions and ideas as we look into the future of a Post that should take center stage in spearheading the national development of our respective countries as well as satisfying the various needs of our consumers.
On the third edition of the forum, I can confidently say that this event has come of age, thanks to your support and your participation. We will continue making improvements on the event to make it suit your needs.
We cannot succeed in this without your support. We will rely on your feedback to make the required changes and position the forum as a premier event for the world Post. Kindly favour us with your feedback at the end of the forum.
I wish you fruitful deliberations and a great time in Istanbul.
Thank you for your attention.
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