Held at the UPU’s Berne headquarters, the conference brings together representatives of the UPU’s member countries, postal operators, industry experts and other interested parties to discuss policy issues related to the prices paid to a postal operator for the international delivery of postal items, including e-commerce items.

Speaking about the conference, the UPU’s Manager of Communication and Events, David Dadge, said, “The conference is the culmination of a long consultation with a broad range of interested parties and represents an important step in safeguarding the sustainability and development of the universal postal service.”

Following opening remarks by the UPU Director General, Bishar A. Hussein, conference participants will discuss how UPU can fulfill its mandate ensuring universal access; the relationship between the UPU’s postal remuneration systems and international trade flows; and, finally, the present situation and whether the remuneration systems need to be repositioned to satisfy the UPU’s multiple stakeholders (Link to programme: http://www.upu.int/uploads/tx_sbdownloader/upuRemunerationSystemsConferenceProgrammeEn.pdf).

Background

The purpose of the UPU remuneration systems is to compensate the designated operators of destination countries for the cost of handling, transporting and delivering postal items from abroad. Although the relationship between the UPU remuneration systems and postage is indirect, the UPU remuneration rate does constitute a major cost component that needs to be taken into consideration by the sending designated operator when it receives, processes and dispatches a postal item sent to an addressee residing in another country.

The Universal Postal Union is a UN specialized agency with its headquarters in the Swiss capital Berne. Established in 1874, it is one of the world’s oldest international organizations and is the primary forum for cooperation between postal sector players.