The ‘India Africa Postal Leaders Meet’ is being held in India from June 21st to 25th, 2024. This initiative aims to strengthen ties between African countries and India in the postal sector. Organized under the “South-South and Triangular Cooperation” programme of the Universal Postal Union, it is supported by India Post and the United States Postal Service.
This meeting aligns with India’s other strategic initiatives, such as the ‘Voice of Global South Summit,’ the India-Africa forum, and the inclusion of the African Union in the G20 during India’s Presidency in 2023. Delegates include 42 heads of postal administrations and senior management personnel from 22 African countries.
The key theme of the meeting is capacity building, highlighted through study visits showcasing India’s extensive and successful postal service model. India Post’s integration of digital services with traditional postal delivery has gained international attention, inspiring the Universal Postal Union to coordinate this meet.
Postal services in developing countries face similar challenges and play a crucial role in sustainable development and financial inclusion. The Postal Leaders Meet provides a platform for collaboration, mutual learning, and exploration of new opportunities.
India Post is demonstrating various services, including e-commerce parcel delivery, Dak Niryat Kendras (postal centres supporting exports), postal financial services, and services provided by the India Post Payments Bank. Citizen-centric services like Aadhaar-enabled services, Passport services, and Digital Life Certificates are also showcased, with special focus on the transformative Unified Payments Interface (UPI) and Aadhaar’s role in enhancing India’s digital infrastructure.
During the meet on June 24th, 2024, Minister of State for Communications Shri Chandra Sekhar Pemmasani highlighted India’s commitment to UPU’s mission of creating a seamless global postal territory and improving global postal services. He emphasized India’s dedication to collaborating with African postal services to address global postal challenges, particularly in cross-border e-commerce and financial inclusion, through technology enablement. He assured continued support in training and capacity building through the Indian Technical and Economic Cooperation (ITEC) programme.
Minister of Communications and Development of North Eastern Region, Shri Jyotiraditya M Scindia, praised the successful organization of the meet, stating, “This initiative underscores our commitment to fostering stronger Indo-Africa ties through postal services. I am confident that this program will facilitate the exchange of best practices and enhance the global postal network for last-mile service delivery.”
The delegates expressed gratitude to the Department of Posts, Government of India, for hosting a productive event aligned with the shared vision for the postal sector in the Global South.
The event was attended by senior representatives from the Ministry of External Affairs, Ministry of Commerce, Directorate General of Foreign Trade, Customs, UIDAI, NPCI, India Post Payments Bank, and Members of the Postal Services Board.
