The 27^th Universal Postal Congress will be held in Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire, on August 9 to 27, 2021. Due to the global pandemic and related gathering restrictions, it is unlikely that all 192 member states will be represented in person. The Congress Secretariat is therefore preparing for the possibility of the event being held in both physical and virtual formats: the congress logistics and the technology that will be used if a hybrid approach is adopted.

Siva Somasundram, Director of Policy, Regulation and Markets (DPRM) and Congress Plenary Secretary, says: “The UPU’s Rules of Procedure state that Congress can only be held in person. Changes to those rules can also only be made in person at Congress. If the hybrid approach is adopted, member countries will be able to use a virtual conferencing platform to participate, negotiate and vote on a whole range of substantive matters.”

“The main aim is to ensure that the 27^th Congress, if it is to proceed in a hybrid fashion, is held in the same way as an ordinary congress, so all events, tasks, voting and procedures that are usually held in physical format are replicated virtually.”

The virtual conferencing platform is already in place and has been used for the past year for Council of Administration and Postal Operations Council meetings.

Prior to the Congress, the UPU held a two-week training on the use of electronic voting system and delegate credentials validation. 2000 representatives from 192 countries are expected to participate in the work of the 27^th Universal Postal Congress.

Serbia is one of the 22 founding countries of the Universal Postal Union.

The Universal Postal Union (UPU), with its headquarters in the Swiss capital Berne, was established in 1874, representing the second oldest international organization worldwide and the primary forum for cooperation between national postal sector players. It fulfils an advisory, mediating and liaison role, and provides technical assistance where needed. It sets the rules for international mail exchanges and makes recommendations to stimulate growth in mail, parcel and financial services volumes and improve quality of service for customers. The UPU consists of 4 bodies: the Congress, the Council of Administration, the Postal Operations Council and the International Bureau.