Govt okays establishment of regional office of Universal Postal Union in New Delhi

May 31, 2023

New Delhi [India], May 31 : The Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday approved to establish a regional office of the Universal Postal Union (UPU) in New Delhi to undertake UPU's development cooperation and technical assistance activities in the region by entering into an agreement with it.
The Universal Postal Union, established by the Treaty of Bern of 1874, is a specialized agency of the United Nations that coordinates postal policies among member nations, in addition to the worldwide postal system.
The initiative would help expand India's diplomatic footprint and strengthen relations with other countries, especially in the Asia-Pacific region and will enhance India's presence at the global postal forums.
The Cabinet approval enables India to play an active role at multilateral organisations in the postal sector with an emphasis on South-South and Triangular cooperation.
Triangular cooperation is when countries, international organisations, civil society, the private sector, private philanthropy and others work together to co-create flexible, cost-effective and innovative solutions for reaching Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
South-South cooperation is a manifestation of solidarity among peoples and countries of the South that contributes to their national well-being, their national and collective self-reliance and the attainment of internationally agreed development goals
According to the Cabinet's statement, India will provide a field project expert, staff and office set-up for UPU's regional office. Projects on capacity building and training, improving efficiency and quality of postal services, enhancement of Postal technology, e-commerce and trade promotion, etc., will be prepared and implemented for the region by this office in coordination with UPU.