There is a need for amending the Universal Postal Union's new Terminal Dues system that fixes the postal charges to be paid by individual countries for international mail, according to the UAE's postal department.
At a recent meeting of the Pan-African Postal Union (Papu) in Cairo, Emirates Post, acting on behalf of Arab postal corporations, made a strong case for amendments to the system. It highlighted unfair clauses in the system and introduced the delegates to amendments suggested by Emirates Post and other like-minded postal bodies.
Commenting on Emirates Post's stand on the Terminal Dues issue, its Chief Executive Officer, Ibrahim bin Karam, said: "As the Arab countries have appointed Emirates Post to campaign for an amended Terminal Dues system, we are doing our utmost to seek support from all quarters, especially the powerful Papu.
"In this meeting, we succeeded in convincing the African countries on the need to have a fair Terminal Dues system."
Nasser Qadoumi, Emirates Post's Postal Operations Consultant, urged members of the Pan-African Postal Union to remain united on the issue and support the move for a more equitable system that will benefit the developing countries and also take into consideration the plight of under-developed countries.
The new Terminal Dues system is to be put to vote at the UPU Congress in Geneva later this month. The 43 countries of Papu can make a difference by casting their vote in favour of the amendments, said an Emirates Post official.
Emirates Post was invited by Papu to make a presentation on the Terminal Dues system at the seventh ordinary session of Papu's plenipotentiary conference.