Today marks the first time in the 43-year history of the Conference that it has been addressed by a Commonwealth Secretary-General.
Commonwealth Secretary-General Kamalesh Sharma this morning addressed the Conference of Commonwealth Postal Administrations, the first time in the 43-year history of the Conference that it has been addressed by a Commonwealth Secretary-General. The opening ceremony of the two-day conference, being held in London, was also addressed by the Director-General of the Universal Postal Union, Bishar Abdirahman Hussein, himself a Commonwealth citizen.
The Secretary-General and Director-General both referred to the role of postal administrations in advancing development goals. Mr Hussein spoke of networks of post offices and delivery personnel providing an infrastructure reaching deep into every community.
Recognising that commercial imperatives are vital, and cannot be set aside, both speakers emphasised the place of postal services in social as well as economic development. Mr Sharma expressed pleasure at the attention being given in the Conference agenda to priority Commonwealth concerns such as financial and social inclusion, and caring for the members of our communities.
In his remarks to delegates the Commonwealth Secretary-General observed that: ‘Provision of postal addresses plays a vital part in building social cohesion. In many respects they can be seen as the essential membership cards of society, enabling citizens to participate in democratic processes, and to interact with government and public service providers’.
He spoke of the competitive challenges and commercial opportunities that are opened up to the international postal sector in a rapidly compacting world, and time of unprecedented global transformation. In the context of the wider markets being made available for both large and for smaller enterprises through online access and internet trading the Secretary-General referred to ‘Commonwealth advantage’. He said there is a strong commonality between what can be offered by postal services and the collective aims of the Commonwealth, and commended the attention being given by the Conference of Commonwealth Postal Administrations to ways in which its mission statement could align with the outcomes of the 2013 Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting.
