Moving the postal sector forward since 1875 | Autumn 2020 10 Cover story Postal Outlook LibanPost 20 2020 New Financial Responds 28 Services UPU: Helping to move the mail 2 MOVING THE POSTAL SECTOR FORWARD SINCE 1875 UNION POSTALE 3 FOREWORD SPECIAL FEATURE 6 We must all move in the same direction India Post offers snapshot on EDITOR’S NOTE 16 7 Standing together confronting COVID-19 India Post has played a significant role in IN BRIEF the country’s communication and socio- 8 Exceptional session of economic development for more than the CA scheduled for 150 years. During this time, it has touched 26 October the lives of almost every Indian citizen through its delivery of mail, financial Who’s who at the UPU services and the provision of government Leolinda Dieme, social benefit schemes, among a host of Regional Expert for Africa other people orientated activities. MARKET FOCUS SPECIAL FEATURE 30 Emirates Post helps UAE companies grow online When transformation prescence 20 meets acceleration – DPDHL’s profits climb, the postal economic but do not reach summit of pre-CoVID-19 estimates outlook for 2020 Every year the postal economic DIGEST outlook provides insights on the latest 32 developments affecting the sector. The preparation of this year’s edition has been a particularly demanding task given the rapidly-evolving global economic crisis, with experts predicting the worst annual economic performance since the Second World War. MOVING THE POSTAL SECTOR FORWARD SINCE 1875 CONTENTS COVER STORY 10 UNION POSTALE is the Universal Postal Union’s flagship magazine, founded in 1875. It is published quarterly in seven LibanPost languages and takes a closer look at UPU activities, featuring international news and developments from the Reponds postal sector. The magazine regularly publishes well On 4 August, a massive explosion ripped through the port researched articles on topical issues facing the industry, as well as interviews of Beirut killing 200 individuals, leaving over 300,000 people with the sector’s leading individuals. homeless and causing an estimated US$10-15 billion in property It is distributed widely to the UPU’s 192 member countries, including damage. The photos of an enormous mushroom cloud thousands of decision-makers from above Lebanon’s capital sent a shockwave around the governments and Posts, as well as other postal stake holders. All regard it as an world as television audiences witnessed the terrible important source of inform ation about scenes of damage and destruction. the UPU and the postal sector at large. UNION POSTALE is also published in French, Arabic and Chinese. SPECIAL FEATURE The Universal Postal Union neither endorses any products or services offered by third-party advertisers nor Postal security programme guarantees the veracity of any claims 24 forges ahead despite made by the same. Opinions expressed in the articles are not necessarily those Covid-19 obstacles of the UPU. Virtual recertification and expert training, It is expressly forbidden to reproduce any part of UNION POSTALE magazine equivalency reviews, harmonisation, electronic (including text, images or illustrations) advance data (EAD) preparations – there is no without prior permission. shortage of activity in UPU’s postal security programme this year. The travel restrictions Autumn 2020 imposed by the global pandemic have not Refers to the season in stopped progress in this important work. the country of publication. EDITOR-IN-CHIEF: David Dadge (DD) AUTHORS: Abbie Cheeseman (AC) SOLUTION SPOTLIGHT David Dadge (DD), Claire O’Dea (CD), Tara Giroud (TG), New financial services Tanja Neufeld (TN) software invites Posts to DESIGN AND LAYOUT: 28 Julie Welby join UPU in the cloud SUBSCRIPTIONS: [email protected] UPU’s financial services software will convert ADVERTISING: to an entirely cloud-based solution and will [email protected] no longer be available for Posts as an in-house operation. CONTACT: UNION POSTALE International Bureau Universal Postal Union P.O. Box 312 3000 BERNE 15 SWITZERLAND PHONE: +41 31 350 31 11 E-MAIL: [email protected] WEBSITE: news.upu.int/magazine UNION POSTALE FOREWORD We must all move in the same direction Africa is a dynamic region, it often leads the way in E-commerce and its rate of development has been incredible. If we turn our backs at this critical moment, we would forfeit a generational opportunity to tell the world the African postal story. I remember the tremendous joy on the faces It would be sad for Cote d’Ivoire to miss the Passenger flights were grounded, curtailing of the African representatives when Cote chance to host the Congress for a second the international mail flow. Thanks to d’Ivoire was awarded the 27th Universal time. Back in 1999, during the Beijing governments declaring posts as critical Postal Congress to be held in Abidjan in Congress, Abidjan won the vote to host the infrastructure in many countries, mail and August 2020. There was a genuine feeling 23rd Congress in 2004. After over four years parcel deliveries have continued; at least on among African colleagues that this was the of preparations, the Congress was, at the last the domestic front. moment to show the world how African moment, moved to Bucharest, following civil postal operators have developed and strife in Abidjan. Other postal services, such as remittances how they have rapidly embraced digital and e-commerce received an unlikely boost transformation and new ways of Not giving up on the opportunity to bring this from the pandemic. Customers in quarantine doing business. unique postal meeting to Africa, Abidjan bid conditions shopped online, and posts have again at the Istanbul Congress and was been involved in the delivery of these goods. Regrettably, the realization of this promise awarded the right to host the 27th Congress. Even governments have used the post to now hangs in the balance. The government of But just when the world was gearing up for distribute Covid-19 protective equipment and Cote d’Ivoire was forced to cancel the the event, the Covid-19 pandemic struck. medicines. Congress in August as the COVID-19 Understandably, the government of Cote pandemic swept across the world causing d’Ivoire has asked for more time to review the Despite all these challenges, the post has disruption and delay. Now we find ourselves extremely fluid situation, and to finalize a remained resilient. I believe it will continue to stranded in what is termed the “new normal.” decision and consider new dates. Fortunately, survive and to thrive both during and after A situation that none of us could have the UPU Constitution has given the Union a the Covid-19 pandemic. anticipated, and which no one wanted. We wide degree of flexibility on these matters. It is have all had to adapt to this new environment my hope members will take advantage of this Bishar A. Hussein, Director General, and to find ways of moving forward. This is and give them additional time. Universal Postal Union why we have called an exceptional meeting of the Council of Administration to agree on how Apart from the disruption of the Congress, to best proceed. I am hopeful we will find a the pandemic has also had a massive impact way forward. One based on the spirit of on the global postal business. Transport, cooperation and partnership that is the logistics and the supply chain for the post hallmark of this remarkable Union. were interrupted by the spread of Covid-19. 6 MOVING THE POSTAL SECTOR FORWARD SINCE 1875 EDITOR’S NOTE How do posts continue to operate during a terrible crisis? This is the subject of the Autumn edition’s cover story. On 4 August, over 200 people were killed and hundreds of thousands left homeless when an STANDING explosion ripped through Beirut. LibanPost, Lebanon’s designated postal operator, did not escape the destruction TOGETHER and suffered injuries to staff and damage to its post offices. Despite this, the postal operator kept working. The cover story examines the tragedy from the perspective of those who work in the post. The story is a tribute to postal workers everywhere who deliver the mail. In other stories, the Autumn edition of Union Postale offers an in-depth look at the latest postal statistics, examines postal security certifications and provides an update on the postponed 27th Universal Postal Congress. David Dadge, Editor 7 IN BRIEF Exceptional session of the CA scheduled for 26 October In the wake of the postponement of the 27th have done to address the pandemic’s effects Universal Postal Congress, due to be held in on their decision-making processes. I am Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire, in August 2020, hopeful we will arrive at decisions that will members and observers of the UPU’s ensure the smooth continuity of the Union Council of Administration (CA) have been activities.” invited to attend an exceptional session of the body supervising the UN agency’s In a circular note sent by Côte d’Ivoire to the activities. UPU Director General on 14 August, the host government requested that the The UPU’s members had been expected to postponement of the Congress be formally adopt the new World Postal Strategy in recognised as resulting from a force majeure Abidjan, a roadmap for the new work cycle situation, and that the matter should be commencing in 2021. discussed at the upcoming exceptional session of the Council of Administration. Following the unprecedented cancelling of the Congress due to the spread of the CA members and observers unable to COVID-19 pandemic, 17 members of the CA attend the session in person due to the requested a meeting of the Council at the COVID-19 pandemic will be allowed to UPU headquarters in Berne.