Mr Speaker, I rise to endorse the resolution to authorize the minister of finance to guarantee an amount of $80 million loan from the first national bank to the national authorities to assist with the finance of youth and sport infrastructure and the programs. Mr Speaker, sometimes in life you have to sacrifice even your health and the advice of doctors in the interest of bringing the truth to light Mr Speaker. Mr Speaker, I have a certificate of five days leave and I came in here medically. And I braved every cell in me to ensure that I lent my voice to this very, very significant investment in our youth and sports development in this country. Mr Speaker, I've heard many say that $80 million is a lot. But on the heels of the year we had in sports and youth development in 2023, I asked the question, if not now, when Mr Speaker. Mr Speaker, our young people have shown that when they are given financial support and they are given facilities and they are encouraged and that the physical and human support are there, they can thrive and become more productive human beings Mr Speaker. Mr Speaker, I have no better example of this than what we just saw in the community of Sufre last weekend. Mr Speaker, we had over 8,000 people in and around the Sufre Ministry stadium for our first ever island champs on the weekend. Investment in ensuring there is exposure to our best track and field athletes, not just to their pairs, not just to their parents and corporates in Lucia, but indeed to the world when it can be consumed Mr Speaker. Mr Speaker, we knew during the week that we have divided the tensions of these individuals. The corporate world is at work, parents are at work, coaches are at work. And so Mr Speaker, we had to gravitate to the saying, madness and insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result. Mr Speaker, we had to transform things, shake it up so we can will and come again as a young people would say Mr Speaker. And so Mr Speaker, you would see the investment of over $100,000 from First National Bank in this competition Mr Speaker. Very well spent. But Mr Speaker, when we talk about youth and sports development in this nation, we must ask ourselves when does it truly occur Mr Speaker. Mr Speaker, because I believe that if you take an objective look at the history of Saint Lucia, anything of substance that happens in youth and sports development happens under the governance of the Saint Lucia Labour Party. Mr Speaker, it was the Saint Lucia Labour Party who built the George Orlund Stadium in Viewfort Mr Speaker. It was the Saint Lucia Labour Party who built the Darren Sami Stadium in Grosley Mr Speaker. Mr Speaker, it is the Saint Lucia Labour Party that is currently building the National Aquatic Center for our swimmers in this nation Mr Speaker. Mr Speaker, a center that has been spoken about since 1987, finally in the next 12 to 14 months it will be available for regional and international competition right here in Saint Lucia Mr Speaker. Mr Speaker, it was this government that took the bold step of removing that unsports equipment for our young people Mr Speaker. Mr Speaker, I don't think people have understood what this means because they've not gotten the context. When a young man asks a minister for a ball, a proper football, a proper football costs over $250 in this country Mr Speaker. Mr Speaker, they were there for five years, they went into a sixth year, they campaign on removing that, reducing and totally removing that. Mr Speaker from this nation and they never considered, despite reducing it to 12.5, they never considered a complete removal unsports equipment. It took the government of the Saint Lucia Labour Party to get this done. And now Mr Speaker, somebody will be able to get a ball for about $190, $200 Mr Speaker. This would mean that the parliamentary rep that would have just bought two can now buy ten. And I'm encouraging them to buy more. Because Mr Speaker, this investment in young people's life is very very important and significant Mr Speaker. Mr Speaker, it was this Saint Lucia Labour Party government in the times past under the member for Dennery North provided the first financial support to Julian Alfred Mr Speaker. And Mr Speaker, when they came into government, there was a lull Mr Speaker. A lull on an athlete that showed every single individual that she would be world class Mr Speaker. And Mr Speaker, in the interest of politics, this athlete had to suffer the indignity of this finances being removed Mr Speaker. And I can guarantee you, she will never forget. Mr Speaker, it was this government who re-established the financial support for Julian Alfred under this Prime Minister and member for Castries East. $250,000 in our budget for transformation from a collegiate athlete to a professional Mr Speaker. And guess what we just saw? In a first professional endeavor in a 60 meter sprint, a world title brought to Saint Lucia Mr Speaker. Mr Speaker, it is the government of the Saint Lucia Labour Party that has established the first 100% solar powered facility in the entire Caribbean region Mr Speaker. 100% off the grid. And the next month, mid-April, we'll be having the ribbon cutting and lighting ceremony in Corinth. 100% solar powered Mr Speaker. And Mr Speaker, I was privileged. Let me get to that, let me get to that because I need to explain that to our colleagues. Mr Speaker, when the member for Castries South stands in this honourable house and says that the member for Miku does not understand sports development, it is really a fact like no other Mr Speaker. Mr Speaker, as a young person in sports, when we came into government, the cost of lighting in Grosley exceeded $180,000 in terms of the bill Mr Speaker. Mr Speaker, they had every opportunity to gravitate towards more sustainable sports. Mr Speaker, yet they gravitated towards four facilities that were against the tide of where the globe is going Mr Speaker. Mr Speaker, as a new ministry, we had to turn that on its head. And so we've decided that the transition will take time, but we are transitioning every facility we can from these lights to LED and then solar lights Mr Speaker. That is the vision that we have. So the cost of using those facilities will significantly be reduced Mr Speaker. Mr Speaker, it is this government of the Solution Labour Party that established the first ever alternative sports season for our people that are not involved in only cricket and football and track and field. But these individuals that are into car racing, these individuals that are into chess Mr Speaker. These individuals that are into BMX Mr Speaker and MotoX Mr Speaker and that's Mr Speaker. It is this government that has given them the requisite attention so that they can invest in the talents and capabilities Mr Speaker. Mr Speaker, it is this government that has established for the first time in our history a semi-professional football league Mr Speaker. And so Mr Speaker, when we talk about sports development and investing $80 million Mr Speaker. I know the PM likes to say that the Minister for Sports wants him to spend his entire budget on sports. But Mr Speaker, we all know the transformative power of sports in our communities Mr Speaker. Mr Speaker, with a semi-pro league Mr Speaker, we have invested directly in young people and we've said to them that the talent and the skill you have in football, we are going to ensure that it's nurtured, that we are going to leverage this football and make better individuals Mr Speaker. And so Mr Speaker, it's not just going to be football on the field, they are going to be in programs Mr Speaker. And the Minister of Education and myself, in collaboration with the NSDC and the Taiwanese government, we've signed an agreement of over $200,000 to ensure that we have skills, programs and training for our athletes in this great nation Mr Speaker. This is how we leverage sports to transform lives Mr Speaker. And so Mr Speaker, these young men and women will be able to access skills and programs such as bartending, massage therapy from the NSDC through this program to ensure that beyond the years of football that they have a skill to fall back on Mr Speaker. Mr Speaker, the issue of crime and violence continue to percolate for our communities and we continue to see it dwindling fathers Mr Speaker. And it is through the semi pro league that we are going to establish parenting workshop for our young men, plant parenthood for our young men, fathering workshops for our young men Mr Speaker. And it is through football we are going to transform those lives Mr Speaker. Mr Speaker, it is this government that after years and years and years of trying have finally Mr Speaker ensured that we have an inter secondary school competition on the weekend Mr Speaker. Mr Speaker, when we talk about island champs Mr Speaker, it is more than just ensuring that there is visibility for our athletes. Track and field, as the member of the castry south alluded to, is probably one of the sporting activities that brings up the vibration in a community Mr Speaker. Mr Speaker, I stood and watched view fought country Mr Speaker, run a four by four hundred meter relay. And Mr Speaker, when this individual caught that battle Mr Speaker. Mr Speaker, I looked around and there was nobody seated Mr Speaker. The entire place felt like it was shaking Mr Speaker. The vibe in that community you could have felt it Mr Speaker. As they chared on these individuals Mr Speaker. I am of the firm belief that when you develop that sort of sporting culture in track and field, it permeates to every other sporting discipline in this country Mr Speaker. And Mr Speaker, this is why this government took the bold step Mr Speaker. Despite all the naysayers, despite the obstructionists that we need to invest in track and field in this way Mr Speaker. Because we need to find our next Julian Alfred Mr Speaker in this country Mr Speaker. And so Mr Speaker, I am very encouraged that this government and this prime minister continues to invest in our youth and our sporting infrastructure. Mr Speaker, the member from Miku South postulated that NLA was in a position where they could not have obtained this loan Mr Speaker. Mr Speaker, he had the temerity, the audacity, the unmitigating goal to stand in this house and indicate to us that when he left NLA brought in in excess of $600,000 and they were better able and they are in financial constraints Mr Speaker. Mr Speaker, every single challenge we face in sports development in St. Lucia in terms of our facility upgrades, in terms of ensuring that the cleric playing field is upgraded, the souffle playing field, the otabok court and the grace playing field, the belvi playing field, the oge playing field, the larisus playing field. That's what I should know. The Cicero field, the Marsha minofilip, every constraint has been because of the actions taken by the government of the past under the member from Miku South Mr Speaker. Mr Speaker, earlier the member for Kastri South indicated that the agreement was signed on the eve of elections that really was a noose around the neck of this government as it pertains to youth and sports development over the last two and a half years. Mr Speaker, I have with me the amendment to the professional services contract between the National Lottery Authority and Caged St. Lucia to design, develop and implement and operate connected video lotteries and virtual sports betting. Mr Speaker, let me just explain to St. Lucia how you finance youth and sports development in this country. Mr Speaker, the National Lotteries originally was established under Honourable Mario Michel to ensure that funds, a percentage from the funds from gambling in this country goes to youth and sports development. And so the first agreement signed was with CBN out of Canada. Mr Speaker, Canadian bank notes. Mr Speaker, later on an agreement was signed with Caged and as the Honourable Prime Minister says, as a businessman you try to look for the best deal and they went and they got the best deal that they could have gotten. But Mr Speaker, in this document, we see why lotteries have had so many difficulties in ensuring that they maximise the amount of money that can be used to even do what we are doing here today Mr Speaker. Mr Speaker, the first amendment to this professional service contract is made of July 2021. While you are campaigning and you are campaigning and you are campaigning and you are campaigning in July 2021, by and between the National Lotteries Authority and Caged St. Lucia, a company registered under the company act. Mr Speaker, the terms of this contract with respect to connected video lottery games will be extended from the date of the contract is completed is execution by the parties for an additional 10 years Mr Speaker. They signed a contract in July 2021 on the heels of the election, heels of an election and extended this for 10 years Mr Speaker. Mr Speaker, it's a long document, I'll make it a document to the house so we can approve Mr Speaker. Under article 3, service fee and payment. Mr Speaker, the NLA received with respect to connected video lottery games deployed at a specific and agreed location in the premises denoted as the Baywalk Mall a service fee of 8% of net win. Calculated on a monthly basis which will be paid in a raise of the 25th of the following month. The same fee shall apply during the additional 10 years of extension of the term but with respect to connected video lottery games deployed at any other location Mr Speaker. Other than the Baywalk Mall location, 17% of net win Mr Speaker. Mr Speaker, in this contract it was agreed upon that the amount that would come out of all the proceeds would be 17%. Mr Speaker, the previous amount before that contract was 20% Mr Speaker. A 3% deduction in the amount Mr Speaker. And here is the problem Mr Speaker. Here is the problem. Section 4.15, filing of tax returns Mr Speaker. The government shall grant to cage and LLA shall secure an exemption from cage from the original 10 year term, the additional term and any extension there on to. All taxes, duties, fees, charges, impositions or revenue enhancement of any kind levied or imposed directly or indirectly in connection with the management and operation of its connected video lottery games Mr Speaker. The government shall grant to cage and LLA shall secure an exemption from cage for that 10 year period, an extension there to all taxes, duties, fees, charges, impositions on revenue enhancement of any kind. Any revenue enhancement of any kind. So as a consequence of this Mr Speaker, we had a situation where cage was not mandated to pay any of these taxes, any of them Mr Speaker. And so we had a situation for months on end where licensing fees that should have been passed on to the national lotteries for the use of youth and sports development in the country was significantly lowered as the taxes were being withheld Mr Speaker. I want to make sure I say this properly. I want to make sure I try carefully Mr Speaker. Mr Speaker, during my time as Minister of Youth Development and Sports, there have been major upgrades in our tourism structure, in the activities happening up north Mr Speaker. And so anybody who have been doing video games would have upgraded their facilities and naturally as a business they upgraded the cost of the upgrades from this document indicated that government despite the fact that they never came in here to do this would have to withhold the taxes or government would exempt them from paying those taxes Mr Speaker. And so we had a situation where we had amounts of $600,000 coming into lotteries and then we seen a further deduction Mr Speaker bringing it down to $400,000 Mr Speaker. And there were times Mr Speaker where the licensing fees that actually were paid by the NLA got down to lower than $100,000 Mr Speaker. And so for months on end when I went to cabinet I had to look at the member for library and say ʻUʰʰe coming ʻUʰʰe coming ʻUʰʰe coming ʻUʰʰe coming ʻUʰʰe coming ʰʰʰʰʰʰʰ the lights coming in ʰUʰʰʰʰʰʰʰʰʰʰʰʰʰʰʰʰʰʰʰ. For months on end I had to say to the member for Denri North that he is playing field, the grand ravine playing field. Let me say I hear about grand ravine for I dream about grand ravine. I had to hear from the member for Castro's North, you know, his lacklary playing field. But Mr. Speaker, there really was not fiscal space to do all what we needed to do because of those activities, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, luckily under this Minister of Finance, we are better able to maneuver for negotiation and we are better able to do what we need to do to develop our youth and sports and we are here better than ever, Mr. Speaker. Better than ever, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, as we continue to develop our facilities, Mr. Speaker, I need to remind everybody that it's not just youth that will benefit, not just sports that will benefit from this, but also the youth, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, at the recently concluded OACS Youth and Sports Ministers Conference, Mr. Speaker, we spoke about the crime situation in our countries. And as youth ministers, we knew where the genesis of it came from. We've heard so much discussion about six and seven in our schools, so much discussions about gangs, pretty much going through all the countries. And we've decided as a region to really grab hold of the situation. The number six and seven has been demonized, Mr. Speaker. It's been glorified, sorry, in the sense that young people feel proud to say what number they represent based on what happened in Trinidad, what originated from Trinidad, Mr. Speaker. And so we've decided, Mr. Speaker, that we are going to launch a program throughout the OACS, Mr. Speaker. We had a discussion on using a number that would provide positivity amongst our young people throughout the region. And, Mr. Speaker, we are going to launch Project One, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, with Project One, we're going to encourage our young people to not see themselves as six or seven or identify with being a six or seven or gang. But look at themselves and see themselves as one in a million, Mr. Speaker. Look at themselves and say, I am one in a million. I control my destiny. I do not succumb to peer pressure. I can do the right thing. I have a contribution as one person to make towards the development of this country, Mr. Speaker. And so we are going to get the biggest social media influencers, the biggest sports athletes, Julian Alfred, Darren Sammy, Johnson Charles, Gary Maffrey was a former West Indies player, the biggest soccer stars, Ricky T., Ezra the Fun Machine, who is the best, by the way, Imran Nudi, and the likes, Venus Cherry, Ryze, to really come on board with insignia for the schools and encourage the next generation to see themselves as one because this government is ensuring that we invest in every single one, Mr. Speaker. And so, Mr. Speaker, I close by saying, Mr. Speaker, we really have a lot of work to do and this will certainly ensure that we continue the work that we are doing in youth and sports development, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, we just had the best year ever in sports in terms of achievements in St. Lucia. We are the champions of the Caribbean boxing tournament, Mr. Speaker. We are the champions of OECS volleyball, champions of table tennis, Caribbean table tennis, champions at Carifter Games in track and champions at Carifter Games in swimming, Mr. Speaker. We are champions in Winwood Islands cricket, youth and senior, Mr. Speaker. And now, Mr. Speaker, we are champions in the world in 60 meters, Mr. Speaker. And so with this loan, Mr. Speaker, we may not be able to do all 140 courts in this country and all 90 playing fields, which amounts to 230 facilities. We may not be able to do all of them, Mr. Speaker, but we will certainly try and so I endorse this motion to borrow this amount. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.


tria post which has financed projects in Mali and Ghana for ovens which are 50% more efficient than old ovens and they help to reduce the amount of wood and timber which is used by women for cooking in these countries. A lot of different countries on a daily basis actually do follow good practices today that they've taken from the lessons learned from developed countries and our post offices for instance don't use a lot of energy in fact some post offices don't even like electricity and a lot is done through post offices for post boxes as well this has been said by a number of speakers the post box is a key aspect of the service and some countries are now going back to delivery in post office boxes in order to reduce the energy consumption because delivery of physical mail uses up a lot of energy so in Cote d'Ivoire the business model the logistic platform that we are implementing in the Cote d'Ivoire post includes our determination to ensure that this platform is made available to other e-commerce operators so we're pooling our efforts if you like and making our equipment available even to our competitors we rent out some of our premises if we believe that our premises are too large for the activities that we're involved with and we've tried to outsource our postal sorting offices to the port area instead of the airport in order to ensure that some of that is done more effectively so these are pragmatic measures that we've taken of course they're not huge in scale and they may not be philosophically particularly interesting but we are sure that with these small steps we are helping to protect the environment and ensuring that we are socially responsible and we are profitable, viable in terms of a going concern and then just to complete my intervention I would like to say that we're trying to make sure that our posts are economic operators creating jobs and creating opportunities and help to improve the lives of our people ensuring as far as possible that we protect the environment in which our activities are deployed and I have to say to finish that there is a link between posts and ITCs and the development policy that we are pursuing in our post is very much dependent on the strategy that we are pursuing in ITCs because we want to ensure that our effective postal network provides inclusive services and so we need to take into account the development of the digital economy and that's absolutely vital because a lot has been said about that here which are true for the post but which don't necessarily take into account that beyond the postal sector we need to have an effective ITC infrastructure to help us in the posts achieve our objectives in a lot of developing countries that's not yet the case and this is a very fertile area we need to have an effective regulatory structure for these new ITCs this is something that is helping inclusion accessibility to services is facilitated we hope to create 300 new cyber cafes in Cote d'Ivoire we need to attract people to the use of ITCs in particular in rural areas because they'll come back to use postal services if they are connected and so these are steps that we are taking to pursue our ITC and postal objectives commonly so there's a long way to go there's a long and winding road and but we are determined to get there because we think that this will help our peoples and we think this will help our states and we really don't have any other choice but to pursue this strategy thank you thank you thank you and I do hope that these are initiatives that you are taking deliberately not just because you don't have electricity in your post office Minister, now we're going to be listening to a union representative to balance the speeches Mr. Philip Jennings, he's the secretary general of Uni Global Union he's been the head of the Uni Global Union since its creation in the year 2000 and described as the labour movement's global warrior his organisation represents the service sector and counts 20 million members in 150 nations and 900 unions Mr. Jennings accepted the nomination of UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon to serve a three-year term on the board of the UN Global Compact he also received the Nagasaki International Peace and Friendship Prize, please welcome him thank you well, good afternoon everybody and thank you for those very kind words of introduction and I'm sure that the paradox of being termed a global warrior and receiving a peace award from Nagasaki is not lost on the observant of you I wish you a very good afternoon I'm very pleased to see so many here at such a late hour I represent Uni Global Union we are the voice of postal workers in this global economy of ours, we are the voice of the 5.4 million staff and their families and their dependents we are the beating heart, the public face if you have a strong brand as postal services everywhere it is because of the people that you employ they are the public face they are the face to the customer to the man and woman in the street and I'm delighted to see that the US Postal Service has put a 3.8 billion dollar valuation on the brand of the postal service the trade unions in America will take credit for this and no doubt this will be an essential ingredient to the next round of pay negotiations worldwide we organize we negotiate we promote we take a stand but we are partners for the growth of this sector this is a big year for all of us this is a year of what I would say is a planetary reset with the climate change talks, the financing for development talks and above all sustainable development the question to all of us as leaders now is what did we do when we were challenged so to save this planet to finance development and to make sure that people were at the center of a new and sustainable world we can all agree that the Wall Street business model has not brought sustainability it has bought financial calamity the question to all of us is what responsibility will we take will we be up to the challenge can we unions your cells, postal regulators and operators can we deliver on this planetary reset Martin Luther King said that the arc of the moral universe is long but it bends towards justice the challenge to us and meeting that challenge is what are we going to do to deliver justice and to put people at the center of this sustainable development challenge you have spent these last two days talking about the challenges you don't need me to repeat them but it's important for me to say what is the pulse of postal workers today those 5.4 million people I would say there is justifiable fear declining male volumes digitalization a new world of work fear insecurity what does that new world of work look like I would say ferocity and resilience knock us down 7 and we will get up 8 times ferocious in our belief in the postal network ferocious in the added value that it brings to our economies brings to business brings to people ferocious in our attachment that this binds people together and above all hope of new possibilities of new alternative services of hope for post and its networks in the long term now time is short I would just like to leave a number of key messages to you you are a key to sustainable development the universal service obligation at an affordable price stands full square against the savagery and the short termism of financial markets of the business of business just being business I don't think that is your business you have broader societal obligations and responsibilities don't be knocked off course by come here go there or by market pressure be resilient be ferocious in your defense of public services and bring the leverage and the added value that it brings to our economies you are the bridge between that digital and the physical world you are the bridge in terms of financing for development and we heard from Aminar about the 1 billion account holders in the postal services side the bridge to families and communities not just in the neighborhood but in the global neighborhood and I am so pleased to see that in Asia and Africa you have been launching new initiatives in terms of remittances the message is being listened to at the G20 in Brisbane I was there and it is now got a priority at a global level where it did not have it before I also think that in this process some things have been said about the role of post-complay in reducing its carbon footprint therefore I think that you have to present yourselves as a key in sustainable development don't be modest take a stand that when your government is talking about its plan for sustainable development that you have to be seen as a key actor don't be modest take a stand and in government goals they talk about people and democracy this has to be a sector where no human rights are questioned in the postal services that every worker if they desire should be a member of a union and should be able to join a union freeing from fear and intimidation and victimization that we are now in a new era within the United Nations system the principles of business and human rights and that sense of the due diligence you will now be obliged as employers to have due diligence in the extent to which you respect the human rights of the employees that you employ therefore no postal operator or some of those large private sector integrators should be acting inconsistently with those principles that there should be no union busting no intimidation I am getting fed up of the calls that I receive from around the planet saying Philip my right to join a union is questioned why should I be thrown in front of a tribunal because I stood up for my people set the example in this postal sector that you will exercise due diligence to respect the rights of people to organize and also that we will take those agreements globally I'd be clear we want a global agreement with DHL with FedEx with UPS with GeoPost and others to begin a conversation about how we can put some of these principles into practice we realize when we look at the distribution of wealth in our economies this is my point number three can we be inclusive in this sector tomorrow there's a day of action called 15 for 15 that is a push by workers at the lower end of the wage scale who basically live in poverty in the world's richest economy people working at McDonald's and Walmart at airports and cleaners and security guards have decided in 200 cities and in 150 nations around the world to take a stand to say that the wealth being produced is not being distributed fairly and therefore I think in the postal service that you can also be an example in those sustainable development goals of the importance of collective bargaining and to ensure that no postal worker in employment is living in poverty this can be done there is enough wealth in this sector and as far as we're concerned one of the key ways of achieving this is through collective bargaining in conclusion the role of the UPU I see the sustainable development goals as being a very significant part of your future evolution and development I would say you must care about these goals and ask yourself the question we want to make an impact not just to listen to the music but to make the music that you say clearly without fear but with great ambition we want to make an impact that you will measure the results of the work that you do and you will report back to one another on the progress being made there are 17 goals in the SDGs as Amina mentioned let's have a UPU 17 goals let's take some yardsticks from within those 70 goals I'm not saying the whole piece of 169 to report on progress to show that you are making the contribution in this direction we welcome the dialogue that we have with the UPU we welcome the continuation with your director general Bisha Hussain and with Pascal Cleaver and the bureau and the secretariat they are open to our ideas and open to our participation we are delighted to have the social dialogue in Asia, in the Americas in Africa and in Europe these are platforms, these are bridges towards the achievement of sustainable development goals and we welcome this partnership and we seek to work with you I started with Martin Luther King and I'll finish with Martin Luther King when he said that injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere the challenge to us in this period of implementing the sustainable development goals is that all of us work together to ensure not just the future of posts and decent work but that there is justice everywhere, thank you thank you Bisha Hussain now if you ever wondered whether the international peace recipient or the global warrior would suit best Philip Jennings I suppose you have the answer as we all do we'll go down now with our next speaker who has a pre-recorded message is Ahim Steiner the Executive Director of the United Nations Environment Program, the UNEP and under Secretary General of the United Nations they couldn't make it to Geneva so he sent us a video Ahim Steiner has been having the UNEP since 2006 and will do so until June 2016 and prior to joining the UNEP Mr. Steiner served as Director General of the International Union for Conservatory of Nature Director General of the World Commissions of Dams here is his message Excellencies, ladies and gentlemen Director General of the Universal Postal Union my fellow panelists let me begin by thanking you for this opportunity to join this panel and also the discussion in the context of the UPU Sustainable Development Working Group and in particular the reflections upon how the Universal Postal Union's global community can be part of a response to climate change both in terms of managing the risks but also in realizing the opportunities that these responses offer to us and above all to make the universal postal community part of the capacity to respond to what is ultimately a sustainable development challenge I want to begin by commending the partnership that we have enjoyed between the United Nations Environment Program and the Universal Postal Union for quite a number of years now and I'm grateful for the Director General for having continuously provided both direction to build on both the successes that we have had in the past in working together but more importantly in guiding our collaboration for the future I'm fully conscious of the fact that for many of you who work in the postal services across the world the question of whether sustainable development and indeed the challenge of climate change belong into the mainstream of your work I would begin by saying that first of all if not you and if not me then who else, if not us then would we indeed be able to respond both to the basic tenets of sustainable development also hopefully out of the September summit a new set of sustainable development goals and ultimately also our collective capacity to address the challenge of climate change it is everyone's responsibility and therefore I would appeal to you that in the way that you have already framed both your work on sustainable development but also the steps you have taken in addressing the issue of greenhouse gases and also the opportunities for both reducing carbon emissions and then examining the options of mitigation and offsets really do belong into the mainstream of the business strategy of any postal service but let me also try and bring perhaps a few encouraging aspects that make this not an effort that would detract you from essentially delivering an effective and efficient postal service across the globe but to make the response to sustainable development and addressing climate change an opportunity for an even more effective, efficient and responsible universal post-union community the beginnings of this really are first of all to establish what is our footprint and I think many of you will have been surprised that indeed postal service across the world are not an insignificant contributor alongside many other sectors to our collective emissions of CO2 and greenhouse gases therefore we are all part of both the problem but more importantly we will become part of the solution you have already taken a number of steps in terms of getting postal service at the national level to establish their greenhouse gas footprint and I want to commend you for this because without measuring and establishing and positioning your individual entities along the scale of whether you are a low emitter or a high emitter it is very difficult to even begin to talk about measures that could be taken we are continuously evolving the greenhouse gas technologies and I am very grateful and also commend UPU for having been part of this effort I also want to congratulate many of your postal services the members of UPU have already begun to undertake this work it continues to build our capacity to respond both based on science and empirical evidence rather than speculation or aspiration only a second step clearly is how we can mitigate and ultimately also manage down our emissions footprint and here what has emerged in recent years first of all through the experience of many pioneering actors in our economies and societies north and south large economies and small economies is actually quite encouraging equally within the united nations system we now have a number of entities amongst them I proudly would mention also the united nations environment program who are climate neutral entities far from actually making us poorer or imposing on us undue costs we have found that we have achieved significant efficiency gains in contrary to expectations we have actually found that in many of the measures that we have since undertaken we have not incurred additional costs we have actually made savings we have become a more efficient and also more transparently managed organization whether it is in the context of our travel policy whether it is in the encouragement of video conferencing whether it is also in the context of managing our infrastructure, our buildings, offices and electricity supplies across the world the net impact of trying to make united a climate neutral organization has been that we have managed to between the year 2013 and 2015 to manage down our emissions footprint by a remarkable 17% even with the offsets that we have had to pay for those emissions that we could not avoid we have found ourselves in a position where we have actually saved money the potential for efficiency gains is quite remarkable and I think particularly in a logistics and infrastructure based service such as the postal service and particularly in your global network of postal organizations I think you would be surprised if you have already discovered this to be the case that there is a significant potential for repeating this experience but let me also be clear the idea is not to be politically correct the idea is to do what we can responsibly and within the context and means by which we can act the bottom line is that for the foreseeable future many of our organizations will still have a carbon footprint that we cannot eliminate and therefore the next step is to offset these emissions through the kinds of offset schemes that exist today it is part of taking a responsible role but also to signal to others that we lead by example we cannot always ask other institutions, other countries other individuals to do the things that we are not prepared to act on in that sense I hope I can convey to you today the message that in measuring greenhouse gas emissions in actually exploring the potentials for reducing emissions and thereby achieving enormous efficiency gains and ultimately also taking responsibility for offsetting those emissions which we cannot avoid we become part of a global fraternity a network of countries institutions, individuals and enterprises that are indeed becoming part of the solution our partnership between UNED and UPU is one expression of this confidence in our ability to make a difference we stand ready to work with you and also with your individual members wherever it is possible, feasible and wanted to try and explore the opportunities and also the boundaries within which we can act but ultimately let me conclude my remarks by simply emphasizing again how critical it is to interpret our response to climate change not only as a constraint or indeed as a cost factor but as an intelligent contribution to the broader sustainable development agenda and indeed to the realization of the goals including the principle of universality and integration that will form part of the framework within which all of us will have to act in the years to come. Thank you and I wish you a very successful meeting Achim Steiner, Executive Director of the United Nations Environment Program Our last speaker now comes from the Dominican Republic Mr. Modesta Guzman is the General Director of Impostom Dr. Guzman is a lawyer with extensive experience in both the private and public sectors it was a decisive part in the reorganization of the Christian Social Reformist Party through which he came to occupy a seat in the Chamber of Deputies he's also been CEO of Impostom over two different periods and his achievements have earned the Impostom glowing praise Mr. Guzman was also one of the main actors in the recovery of Haiti Postal Services in transport of humanitarian aid in that situation Thank you Dear colleagues, I'd like to begin by thanking the Director General of the UPU Mr. Hussain and the Government of Côte d'Ivoire represented by the Prime Minister Mr. Bruno Nabany-Cone the Minister who have allowed me to come here from a far off island in the Caribbean bringing with me the Caribbean Sun I've been very impressed here I saw the photo of an elderly gentleman who was being helped to write a letter and I think it's very symbolic because that represents inclusion because I think inclusion is a very important keyword for the Posts today we have something that we would like to say about inclusion in the Dominican Republic No, you don't have that You don't have the video Are you chatting again? No, I'm not chatting I'm buying on the internet the Dominican Postal Institute presents a postmark which is the best way to make purchases over the internet with official guarantees we are the only official way of buying products over the internet in the country the Posts getting closer to you so I hope you like the video financial inclusion is a vital issue and that's something that I wanted to mention now the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean has lowered economic growth forecast for the region but it's said that the Central American Caribbean region will lead economic growth and the Dominican Republic has economic growth at an average of 5% over the past few decades the Dominican Republic has been one of the strongest economies in Latin America reaching an average of 5.5% growth between 1991 and 2013 the Dominican Republic has excellent geography, political flexibility secure democracy and is a tourist destination for the region and for the world one of the main challenges that we have as Posts in the short term is the need to adapt postal infrastructure to new realities and to the new role that Posts must play and our sustainability will depend on our skill in using the strength of the postal network in ensuring that it becomes a more effective logistics network trends show that there will continue to be a strong demand for financial services and Tamara Cook from the Bill and Millenia Gates Foundation said that the UPU will need to work so that Posts can be included within the financial sector in trying to improve and indeed provide new postal services providing postal infrastructure that supports economic and political objectives set by governments in that regard we need to see changes in the region we need to clarify the concept of universal service universal postal service and indeed the conditions of meeting that service because the needs have changed in relation to universal postal services our view our vision is that our Dominican Postal Institute can help support a building a more committed society and we believe that we will be able to help achieve the strategic objectives set by governments the development of the Dominican Post was getting the postal sector included in developing the national development strategy 2030 law including the sector as a whole and supporting the implementation of national development initiatives towards a better country we've just been playing our part in helping to achieve the sustainable development goals of our country Dominican Post has made great gains modernisation greater efficiency and becoming more competitive meeting the right for expectations of our clients and users thanks to this strategic leadership we have been able to achieve a strong position and a strong position in particular related to our economic activities the range of products that we provide is adapted to the needs of our people two experiences that we've had have been in developing e-commerce through the in-post-back project and export of facile in-post-backed is the premium courier service of the Dominican Republic with international transport of mail and parcels and a service for e-commerce and it's 40% cheaper than services provided by competitors export of facile is a simplified tool for exporting commercial parcels and which is designed for small and medium-sized enterprises who want to link up to international markets and there is guaranteed delivery of goods to all countries around the world and this is a tool which is designed to help the growth of small and medium-sized enterprises and in particular from the handicraft sector so that they can sell those products in foreign markets it's an initiative service and it's a very direct simple, cheap and secure system and obviously it overcomes logistical and bureaucratical burdens our view is that we need to ensure that all of our services help to improve the lives of our people and promote social inclusion which is a key aspect for national development I'd like to point out in stress that sustainable development has become a key aspect of postal development ensuring relations with customers developing new markets meeting expectations of consumers throughout the territory promoting personal development of human resources and raising awareness of social and environmental use among our people we need to ensure that productivity and growth go hand in hand with promoting more flexible and flexible work arrangements for our employees and maximizing benefits of automatic and digital systems however, to be successful we need to ensure that this is fair and attractive to our workforce what we've been doing is reducing the use of motor bikes by encouraging the use of motorcycles and the French post has helped us with that as well we have non-communicable diseases in our country which is a great problem and we're trying to encourage people to use bikes and these health projects have been sponsored by the First Lady I'd also like to take this opportunity to say that I am the Director General with I think most experience in the postal sector today and I've heard a lot of speakers over the past couple of days talking about new ideas and when I received the invitation from the Director General he said that this strategic context conference would be taking place in the context of permanent evolution of the postal sector and that we need to look together at the difficulties and opportunities faced by the postal sector and that's why we're here but there's a vital thing that we need to do to achieve all of these objectives and that is faith we need to have faith in the sustainability of the postal sector faith to continue with our tasks and jobs faith in the concept of meeting customers expectations faith that we can do more with less and I'm sending this message out to developed countries from a developing country mine Solanio Moreira talked a lot about this and that's someone I'd like to remember today faith is a key concept and that's why we're here at this conference through our faith in the post we've come from all of the different parts in the world to be here today because we all have faith in the system and I think that's a vital aspect the Director General has faith in the postal sector because Mr Hussain has faith deep within him and he has demonstrated that he believes strongly in the postal sector Ladies and Gentlemen this strategy conference is a demonstration of that faith and it's a clear demonstration that all of us are committed to the postal sector and we all need to work together in this because the postal sector will remain sustainable if we all have that faith and keep that flame alive so after this I will ask you now to listen to the Deputy Director General of the University of Pasadena Pasadena is very well began his career as a scientific councillor with Swiss Post he took responsibility of relationship with the UPU and many times he was head of delegation of Switzerland at the Council of Administration and the Post Operations Council as well and on behalf of Switzerland he took on the presidency of the drafting committee at the 23rd UPU Congress Mr Cleaver you have the floor Ladies and Gentlemen, colleagues, friends, minister, panellists Ladies and Gentlemen and Director General of the colleague I always thought that a post was one of the most beautiful women in the world but given the number of people who have been seeking our fortune in the recent years we have a lot of hope before us and I was indeed right this is an essential opponent of the global economy everyone recognised this mission through the vision that we had set in place four years ago what we said eight years ago as well in this organisation it's a vision that we are sticking to we are called more and more to react to this vision we've included this sustainable development component within this and this is obviously natural and it's a privilege of the final panellists to be able to react to what colleagues have already said so I will try to do this a few minutes ago to listen to Amina Mohammed so the United Nations big family we belong to in a few months time we will discuss the Millennium Goals and called all of us to be at the heart of the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals Post and the UPU are already actors in the area of sustainable development we've heard this many times and I will take up a few examples to illustrate this so in the area of posts we've had a clear interest in sustainable development in riding the wave of sustainable development around these three pillars the environment the economy and the social aspect of course this is the way we will guarantee our future for example in the area of the environment as Einstein mentioned a short while ago the environmental management system will help us to reduce cost it's not just a statement we have clear examples of this for example Australia Post has saved 16 million dollars between 2012 and 2015 through responsible management of its buildings and its vehicles we also have the example of Samar Post a small post but it has managed to reduce its fuel expenditure by 54% Minister Kone mentioned the economic models that we could use we can bring in the environment and the economy together Philip Jennings mentioned the social pillar he made an excellent demonstration and showed that taking into account social dialogue diversity minorities long term training this can only be of benefit to posts here again we have examples and I'll take examples of small posts for example Salvador Post in the area of access for persons with disabilities to access to jobs and access to post offices it's not just up to the large posts to deliver on these goals everyone can do it in the area of sustainable economic development things are even clearer in the example of financial inclusion is a clear example here we spoke about this this afternoon so the strengths of posts in the area of financial inclusion of those who have previously been excluded from the banking system this is a real asset the point of view of economic development of countries and the policies of inclusion as well as the point of view of postal revenue and income another recent example we have produced a study together with UN women and this was published shortly and it will show clearly that posts include women financially and economically much more than any other economic sector for example the banking sector I listened to Jean-Paul Fosserville with the capacity for posts to include people in the financial sector posts have been and will remain area for public power we have been partners with the governments in many general policies whether it be the area of social transfers administrative aspects helping to organise elections urban planning through addressing systems and others on a national level have already shown that they are actors in the area of sustainable economic development or even sometimes leaders as has been shown through the example of the French post has taken the role of leader in the procurement platform for electric vehicles which brings together many companies from different areas this is also the case of Mauritius Post which was chosen as the main partner for the government's overall development strategy of course posts can do more and posts can do it better the UPU is there to guide them and support them in their endeavours so the UPU now this area of contribution to sustainable development UPU is of course ambitious yes we are ambitious however we must also be pragmatic we are not taking anyone's place or the place of any other organisation in this area we are not the UNDP we are not a large development agency but we are taking on our responsibilities our social economic societal responsibilities but of course environmental responsibilities come along with this we know that working together we can bring global solutions our strength is our global network this famous single post-war territory just set up over 100 years ago we don't necessarily have the financial means or the resources alone so that's why we need to set up partnerships and work together we've seen these the last two days working with the special organisation Migration I've found UNEP UN Women the Gates Foundation and others I can mention we have continued to take significant efforts to convince our partners to work with us today for the benefit of tomorrow so we need to highlight our strategy for partnership further and that is vital the strength of UPU is also that it's a global organisation that can help the postal community in its role at the heart of sustainable economic development within the famous list of 17 sustainable development goals that are currently being discussed in the United Nations I can say with certainty that alone or more often with partners that we have in the UPU we are active in 13 of these goals whether they be in the area of financial inclusion training friendships growth and development of SMEs and access to international markets also promotion of investment and sustainable infrastructure fighting climate change and affecting the economy and others as well we are already working in all these areas but of course we need to do more to show that the postal sector is an important infrastructure for sustainable development and social and economic cohesion one of the benefits and assets of the postal family and of the UPU is also solidarity and the effective work we're carrying out in this area I'd like to highlight the role of Modesto Guzman who worked hard with the moment when Haiti was severely affected several years ago the was the first to assist as well as with the US Postal Service as well we worked in times of crisis in Indonesia Japan for example during the Fukushima disaster we have assisted not only when crisis have hit but in the reconstruction phase as well with US Post and others we've been in Sendai the Global Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction and we have shown the role that the postal sector can play in times of crisis times of disaster post as a structural element to assist post can also be an element that can highlight problems we have a project that is being brought together with the World Meteorological Organization that we can use to warn populations when crisis are about to hit and natural disasters are about to hit so all these points to bring together in our activities and our famous strategy for action to ensure that we can be effective so that the postal sector and economic development in the broader sense can be delivered this is a contribution to the development of post but also through a contribution to the sustainable development goals of member states this is how the UPU will be relevant and effective this is at the heart of our action the global strategy that includes elements and context of our changing times this is why we are not and will never work in isolation we need to come together to bring our benefits to our members to support development our strength is in delivery in specifics our objectives can be seen on a daily basis in economic and social life we will continue to work in this vein for everyone thank you thank you thank you very much I have one quick question to all for you a very quick one maybe I don't know if the answers will be quick but you guys try I hear all these positive thoughts about sustainable development about the bright future that the post will be confronted but at the same time isn't it difficult or isn't it even somewhat of an utopia to be willing to achieve all these goals while at the same time the post main competitors do not play by the same rules socially, financially environmentally how do you tackle that or try to tackle that Monsieur President perhaps well that's a really difficult question and I'm going to try to reply to it I was saying a moment ago that our posts have to be socially responsible and in that context they need to go beyond considerations restricted to profitability it would be very difficult to envisage a post office that did not focus on issues of profitability because it would be dependent on the state if it wasn't profitable or viable as a going concern so you need to try to sort of square the circle I mean it's a conundrum in trying to promote social responsibility and going towards the poorest sections of the society so promoting inclusion while remaining profitable and that is the question most businesses today are faced by these new issues connected with sustainable development most businesses today are accepting responsibilities which involve costs I'm talking about banks, insurance companies a whole number of sectors who are now taking measures to avoid being accused of undermining sustainable development and creating problems related to climate change and ozone depletion of those responsibilities we're all on the same boat and if there's a hole in the boat and it's leaking then it's a problem for all of us and we need to ensure that this boat remains afloat we all have our duties and responsibilities if someone starts trying to make holes in that boat and I believe that postal sector that goes for the postal sector too I would say you have this great big, wide wonderful representative socially responsible community known as the UPU strong in values strong in principles a very long history therefore I see you as probably the most long standing community of interest within the UN system bar none but there has to come a time in a world where the family has to take some of the difficult family members to one side and say look, we understand as a global integrator you want to provide globally integrated services however that should be on the basis of fair competition and we will not accept any of these large globally globally integrated integrators taking an anti-union message undercutting what all of you are trying to do is to provide a service, a universal service at an affordable price and I think the time has come to think very carefully about how can we deal with instances of behavior such as this it's a question for your administration but surely there must be a place to take these issues to you and say this behavior is not acceptable we know what the labor cost element is in all the contracts and the services that you provide and I think when you are trying to provide decent work to your national postal workers that when markets are open and those markets are open to competitors who may be responsible at home but are not responsible with you then I think it's time for the UPU and to try and find a way of dealing with these measures in the case we have an interesting example with DHL we have a number of issues around the world and we've taken the issue to the OECD contact point and we are now in a developing dialogue with DHL to deal with these cases as they emerge in recent weeks we have FedEx and TNT, we have the new situation with Japan Post in the process to purchase Zittel in Australia and therefore this is going to come to your doorstep this question of unfair competition and therefore you have to try and find a way of dealing with this within the context of your work on sustainability maybe controversial but I think it's only fair to all of the decent work employers in the room that your decent work agenda is not undercut by unfair competition thank you you do have to face this already yes we are different we do focus on the human being a lot of businesses only focus on figures we focus as well on society and that's our strength because the human being is central to our activities we have always been sustainable because our main objective isn't just to make money but it's to have a universal postal service you managed to achieve that on a daily basis we do manage to do that and the more efforts we make at every level we can do that and that's our strength that's our difference that's why we are different to businesses because of the belief and passion that we have for our sector others look at statistics figures cold numbers that's not us is it up to UPU to try to fight this unfair competition well UPU is an intergovernmental organisation and its aim is to ensure that there is a global network that is operational and even though Philippe Philippe has been talking about talking to some of the members of our family and taking them to one side the fact is everybody together decides on the rules of the game and UPU needs to ensure that provides opportunities to discuss the rules of the game we have a congress now in 17 months time and that might be a wonderful opportunity to talk about the rules of the game and to get things off our chest we all need to take responsibility for this we can't substitute member states but together we can put pressure on those who might avoid their social responsibility thank you flying as I was saying I think we have questions now from the audience and if I'm correctly know what I'm talking about I think the first one should be coming from the USPS is that correct no Japan also asked for yes ok please go ahead there you go thank you as you said my name is from the US Postal Service and speaking in my role is the chair of the UPU working group on disaster risk management a recurring theme that we've heard at the conference is the need for the post to adapt and change in order to stay relevant disasters are events that all posts deal with in order to accomplish their mission on a daily basis maintain trust and as a result the disaster risk management and building of resistance is very important to maintaining the postal sector's relevance the United Nations Development Program has highlighted that every dollar invested into disaster preparedness saves $7 in dealing with the aftermath of a disaster that's why disaster risk reduction is an integral part of the sustainable development agenda as Pascal mentioned our objectives for disaster risk management are to identify ways for the UPU member posts to share lessons learned, identify best practices regarding preparation for disasters and building resilience as well as providing assistance for the restoration of basic postal services after disasters as we prepare for the next cycle and identify the challenges that will be affecting our sector disaster risk management can be an investment in the postal sector as a whole and the UPU member posts so on behalf of the members of the disaster risk management group I would like to appeal to all the participants here to support and promote our efforts to include the basic elements of disaster risk management and resilience building into the post cycle. Thank you. Thank you. Any reaction? Does anyone want to react? No. So shall we go on? I think Japan also requested to speak. So if there is any Japanese represented please open your microphone. Thank you. But regarding a disaster due to climate change and other factors natural disasters happen anywhere in the world actually there were many natural disasters in the world as Mr. previous mentioned in his panel such as Indonesia, Maldives, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, United States of America, China, Philippines, Haiti and recently Banuatu and so on including our country. There are many challenges for disaster risk reduction which are being implemented in the United States. There are many important common issues in the United Nations. In this situation last month Japan with its initiative and collaboration with the United Nations they were held the third United Nations world conference on disaster risk reduction in Sendai, Japan. In this opportunity Japan would like to express our sincere appreciation to Mr. Pascal Kribas Deputy Director General of UPU to participate in this conference. We recognize the postal sector has an important role and function to achieve transportation, financing services and base station for affected community even during natural disasters happen. So Japan would like to highly appreciate UPU's active role to play to establish disaster management framework in line with Toha postal strategy. It is important to minimize the damages and effect by natural disasters. Postal sector should improve its resilience for sustainable development. At the same time it is efficient that UPU transmit that postal sector is able to contribute for disaster risk management activities to the world as its social responsibilities. Japan also would like to expect these points will be reflected to the next Istanbul strategy in the next UPU congress. Thank you. Next speaker actually next would you like to react? Yes, I know friends as well but in the list I have the WMO also wanted to speak the World Meteorological Organization. Please open your mic. Yes, please go ahead. Turn on your microphone please. Thank you. Distinguished minister, director general, ladies and gentlemen, distinguished delegates. I'd like to thank all of the panellists who've spoken about such interesting issues and I'd like to come back to what Amina Mohammed said and what Mr Steiner said about the contribution to the WMO and UPU can make for their members to support the sustainable development goals and combat poverty and disaster reduction. WMO and UPU are two of the oldest members of the UN family and we're lucky enough to collaborate, work together and have been doing for some time. In the future there will be more disasters in relation to climate change and postal services and hydrological and meteorological services in our member states will have a great contribution to make to try to make states more resilient and strong and ensure that our systems are more effective even in the context of disasters and helping local and national governments to become more efficient and resilient in the face of disasters. So in that with that in mind I can reiterate the solidarity of WMO and UPU to try to help members pursue those objectives. Thank you. Thank you for that. I'd like to give the floor to the Delegation of France now. Thank you. I'd like to come back to the Carbon Fund. I'd like to point out that it has two objectives the low carbon emissions target of the postal sector which needs to be financed by posts in developed countries that need to finance projects on electrification and the move towards renewable energies or financing alternative vehicles in developing countries posts. Thanks to those projects the developed world can demonstrate their carbon neutrality so that's beneficial for both. The second aim is climatic solidarity so the idea isn't just to transfer green technologies but to transfer know-how. The Carbon Fund is the first sectoral carbon fund in the world which pursues these two objectives. It's a win-win situation which is designed to help all of the 192 member countries to come to Istanbul and try to support the implementation of this fund perhaps it could be incorporated into the UPU and its strategy but in any case the postal sector by adopting this fund will be able to demonstrate at COP2121 the next conference on climate change that it becomes the first official proposal. It's something that's been announced by Ban Ki-moon and that's something that we have anticipated and tried to move ahead with. We need to associate quality of service with quality of air. Thank you. And I think a country willing to air something with Costa Rica is it the case still? Hi, how are you? Hello to everybody. Costa Rica is in a region that for many years has been struck by earthquakes and eruptions and that's why for Costa Rica it's vital to see the role played by posts along with local efforts to combat disasters and their impacts. In 2008, Costa Rica was struck by a terrible earthquake and thanks to the postal sector we managed to achieve a tremendously strong response in the effective areas and what we're asking from other posts as the United States has pointed out and other countries have said is to understand the importance of the post's active role in responding to disasters with national disaster response committees and posts can play that social role that they really have to play. Do you want to add something Mr. Guzman? I can say that in the experience of Haiti I saw that the Haiti experience was useful in creating synergies between activating a mechanism in which the United States played a very active role and other countries from Europe in fact as well showing quick solidarity in the context of that disaster and that strengthened or raised the awareness of all of us that we need to show solidarity in responding quickly to support countries that have suffered from the impacts of such disasters. Mr. Prime Minister, I speak under President Minister we have gone over time do we have time to take a few more questions or do we need to wrap up now? I had over to you I think we need to stop there so I'd like to thank you very much for your attention and we've looked at issues which are very sensitive and important for future posts and we are all customers and we're all customers of posts so we have Benefits and Universal Service and we need to look at aspects of development of respecting the environment and respecting staff and employees and also the economic realities and profitability of the posts these are all the different aspects of the same problem I think through the different presentations and different speakers today we see the need to move forward and also the trust you have in your institutions in how the customer views you and the trust they have in you I'd like to thank you very much for your attention wish you an excellent evening and I will give the floor to the Minister and President for the continuation of this conference thank you very much Well, I'd like to begin by thanking of course Mr. the moderator the excellent way in which he's moderated this panel I'd like to thank the panelists of course for the wealth of the experience they've shared with us today in an excellent fashion I would also like now ladies and gentlemen we invite the Director General Mr. Bishah Hussein to take the floor for some overall concluding remarks and I will continue after he's taken the floor so you have the floor Honorable Minister distinguished delegates ladies and gentlemen well after two days of very intense discussions covering the main issues I would like to thank Mr. Mr. I've been given the daunting task to summarize the work and the thoughts the ideas the suggestions the preparations and the presentations given by 46 imminent speakers and interventions from many delegates from this floor Your Excellencies what kind of stress of imagination can I be able to summarize all the things that have been said here with the space of time that we have and certainly I will not be able to match the passion and eloquence with which the great speakers before me have spoken here however let me take this opportunity Your Excellencies just to let you know that I want us to have a quick better than a thousand words first of all let's have a quick reflection and see what has been going on for the last two days in pictures form well I want to apologize that we are not able to add voice to it but hopefully we are going to have that Your Excellencies ladies and gentlemen I know it's late and I have a serious task ahead of me just to let you know that nearly 800 delegates from 136 countries this is a record strategy conference that we have seen in the history of the Universal Postal Union first of all may I take this opportunity Your Excellencies to thank our hosts Government Côte d'Ivoire for really taking leadership and organizing this great conference Mr. Minister members of Universal Postal Union here I want to convey to you and to your Government and the Prime Minister who is with us here our most sincere thanks for really leading this very important conference Your Excellencies allow me also to thank the eminent speakers the great men and women who have spoken here who have made this very very interesting session for us I also want to thank our great panelist the moderators who have facilitated our work this by name Mr. McFerre, Mr. Peter Somers and Mr. Michael Suriti I want to say can you please give them a big round of applause please these men have skillfully led our debates with great professionalism and dynamism and efficiency I want to say also that I want to extend my sincere thanks to the great team from Universal Postal Union the International Bureau who are here who have been working behind the scene and who have made this conference a success Your Excellencies first of all let me just make a short comment about this conference this is very unique in its format in its structure and the way we have planned it and I'm very glad that it has come together the way it has Your Excellency this is complete departure from what we have in Universal Postal Union our normal meetings our meetings are very long and sometimes very tedious and very boring but I can tell you that the purpose of this conference the last two days was to make it very interactive very very engaging, very stimulating thought provoking and this is what I have promised you when I opened up the stage yesterday this is our new approach to running business in the Universal Postal Union and I want to thank all those who are involved in making this a success Your Excellencies I have to say again that if there is one message I really want because really to wrap this up we must come down to really what is the what is the thing one thing that you want to take out of this place and the one message which comes out quite clearly in my mind is that the environment of the Post and UPU we have been used to for many decades and probably about a century has changed and is changing very dramatically we must all adapt to this new realities for the Posts and UPU to remain relevant the big question is which has been asked over and over again directly or indirectly is how do we do this what do we need to change when do we change and by what means do we want to change Your Excellencies this question may not have been asked directly but this is what we have discerned from the discussions that we have the view that has come over and over again is that we need to change UPU and the Post and we need to change it now and not tomorrow the question is how do we do it to us what has come out here is something we have thought about it in Universal in the IB and we have trained this idea through our councils we have also consulted our member countries and when we came up with the three eyes innovation integration and inclusion to me this are the fundamental three issues that really was underlined here by this conference during the last three days Your Excellencies just allow me to then at this point to highlight what really the great speakers have spoken about this certainly this may not cover everything that has been said I want to assure you that within a very short time the entire report of this conference will be able to be available on our website for all of you to access and that you will have it very shortly. However let me say this from the technical team that has supported me really in preparing this report the fundamental issues that come to us is that innovation this is a prerequisite for the future of the postal sector integration of networks products and services is key to building a seamless postal network in line with the changing global environment the postal services are driven are drivers for inclusive and sustainable development these are the themes that have been coming to us Your Excellencies let me expand on this a little bit the first message that clearly emerged from our strategy conference is that we must innovate to adapt and indeed anticipate the global, economic and technological business and social environment with male volumes declining we must shift the postal paradigm and put innovation at the top of our agenda in order to take advantage of the new opportunities that are emerging around us consumer behaviour is changing postal operators regulators, governments and the UPU need to think outside the box and design new business models we have had several examples of posts that have transformed the way they conduct business in order to respond to the new demands from customers and to the requirements of the e-commerce Your Excellencies the last two days we have had a great deal about e-commerce e-commerce is one of the key strategic areas of focus for the UPU innovation in e-commerce area also calls for appropriate global response from UPU having had many interventions since yesterday and the affirmations of the panellists in the third session I am even more confident and convinced that the UPU e-commerce programme offers the right solutions and response to the market UPU e-commerce provides a tailored framework for the development of international e-commerce through the postal network the postal sector holds key and with ECOMPRO UPU has focused on the right things this was said by eBay yesterday an eminent speaker or panellist who has spoken here Mr Chopra of Canada post said we can't be the network of the left of us I quite agree with him we must be not be the network of only providing those left of us we have the network, we have the rich we have got the potentials and we have faith that the post office can be able to deliver the best in the market Your Excellencies these are clear and strong messages and therefore it was urgent to act and ECOMPRO presents a first step in responding to the needs of the international e-commerce however we need to go further to answer some of the concerns expressed reliability of the postal network adopted remunerations predictability and clarity in the product mix and achieving a win-win situation for the customers and the post among those challenges we have to tackle as we move forward we got the message and we shall act on that Your Excellencies communication technologies represents a tool and opportunity for posts to transform that's what we have been told yesterday and to offer and create new added values services we had many examples from countries around the world of the capacity of posts to innovate and embrace new technologies and enter the digital space however while the posts are often ranked as the most trusted agency they will face challenges in transferring this trust to the digital economy unless they develop a digital competence and ensure that they are able to demonstrate this competence with so many examples of how the traditional postal business is transforming itself through innovation and market evolutions all of this must be supported by enabling regulations and here again we are talking to our regulators our debates have shown that there is a need for a renewed regulatory approach to the postal sector in all its dimensions mobile, financial services logistics, e-commerce trade facilitation etc the UPU will remain a partner for the postal community in this endeavours Your Excellencies the next theme that came out quite well after innovation what simply in a simple words what we are told innovation is that we must innovate in our the way we do business we must innovate in our technologies we must come up with new products and services that meet the customer demands of today the next thing that's one pillar the next one is integration unless we are integrated your innovations are useless if you have a very efficient postal network and your next country which is next to you here then your efficiency is all lost and here we say that the second theme that we can draw from our debate is that integration of the network products and services is critical in building both seamless global postal networks and business development opportunities at the international level what is needed is full integration between various stakeholders of the supply chain posts the transport sector and customs and border securities are all very important in our business developing interconnections between customs and post is of paramount importance in facilitating cross border e-commerce your excellence is the UPU and world customs organization have been working very closely together to develop joint programs and processes needed to facilitate the circulation of items across our borders interoperability of international postal network is one of the main goals of the Doha postal strategy as we have had in many innovations yesterday and today postal operators operations are increasing in complexity integrated technological solution based on common standards are necessary to facilitate global exchanges your excellence here again the UPU is bringing concrete answers and solutions to the postal community by providing standard IT infrastructures solutions and services to designated operators with UPU track and trace services which covers nearly 94% of the world's post messaging through the post net networks financial payment services and with IFS we provide a full and affordable infrastructure to all regardless of their level of service this integrated UPU approach is vital to ensuring both the development of e-commerce and postal trade facilitation at world wide level it must continue to be strong component in our next strategy roadmap your excellence is this brings me to my third pillar here which is inclusion and sustainable development without any doubt the postal sector's role as a driver for inclusive and sustainable development inclusion has been a keyword in almost all our panels the capacity of the postal sector to foster inclusion in all its dimensions social, economic and financial has been underlined throughout our conference this message is clear if it is not us then no one else can do it I can tell you that first of all economic inclusion is very critical and has been underlined by many speakers inclusion of micro small and medium size enterprise in the world market is one example of how the postal network can contribute to offering economic opportunities this was said yesterday secondly the topic of financial inclusion of unbanked and excluded population is now high on the agenda this is a role of governments and posts but also other international organizations level the postal financial inclusion is becoming a strategic priority in many countries around the world from Africa to Europe and from Asia to Latin America this afternoon you have had Madam Amina speaking at length on how the postal sector can become a very important infrastructure and a sustainable development which is now going to be adopted this is nothing new for us the post has been delivering financial service for many decades the UPU is very active in the financial inclusion field and working with strong partners such as IOM who are convinced that the post have a major role to play in financial inclusion thirdly your experiences are drivers for digital inclusion the information society needs to be accessible to all and the postal sector can help to achieve these objectives the importance of the universal service in delivering inclusion was underlined the universal service serves as an infrastructure that helps support the inclusion objectives we had today inclusion through posts represent a fundamental contribution to the sustainable development goals of the international community protecting our environment is a major component of the sustainable development goals and the post must be prepared to participate and provide solution in this area the resilience of the post to natural disasters as well as contribution to post disaster response was emphasized by several countries particularly in the last panel discussion that have and this is one of the most important issues those who have suffered from such events here again the UPU acts to help its members to respond to these difficult situations but also to serve their communities your excellence is ladies and gentlemen through integration innovation the postal sector will help deliver inclusion and foster sustainable economic development each element is dependent on the other and therefore the support of the international community ladies and gentlemen in conclusion innovation integration and inclusion are for me the main drivers that should ship our strategic framework for 2017 to 2020 my ambition is for all of us to deliver together by 2020 a postal world where there is a reality for all of us it is my vision that a postal world we should be able to create a postal world where full integration of network at national, regional and global level is no longer an objective but a reality for all of us it's also my vision that a postal world in which our sector unique ability to include populations economic actors and territories fully recognized and exploited by governments, development partners and international organizations however for us to achieve these objectives your excellence is we need to transform the universal postal union the universal postal union needs to undergo a profound and fundamental transformation by 2020 we need quicker and more efficient decision making processes we need to transform our regulations and practices and the way we deal with these development issues we also need to have a clear and adaptable mandates which we can be able to implement we must come up with quick and concrete proposals for reforms I want to emphasize here that your excellence is the change that we have all asked for here we have only very short window between now and October we must all act together very very fast to come up with real proposals which can change this organization and this has to go to the council administration in October from there then it can be able to meet the deadline for us to change these things in 2016 congress if we miss that train I can assure you we have to wait until 2020 before we can take a decision and I can tell you the market is not going to wait for us your excellence I would like to say that our strategy conference has paved the way to our next roadmap the ideas flowing from this conference will be further refined through seven regional roundtables over the next couple of months before a final examination by our councils and a final approval by congress as a global postal family let us not miss this opportunity to build an even more relevant postal sector and a UPU that is more efficient transformed and fit for purpose your excellence I want to conclude with final remark the last speaker here who spoke Mr. Guzman said that we must have faith in the UPU I am very optimistic person and together myself and the entire team of international bureau are determined your excellency on a final note again I must say that I and the deputy director general were greatly humbled really for the expression of support and the confidence with which you have expressed to us this really touched us for us it was just a normal course of duty when you elected us in 2012 we took the promise to be able to deliver to you a UPU UPU and the post must change for us UPU and the post will change and together we will move the world thank you very much for your attention thank you congratulations to the director general of the UPU and I would like to thank him very much for his excellent engagement statement I would like to congratulate him and all of his team for the boost they give us on a daily basis the assistance they give us as the universal postal union so ladies and gentlemen I don't want to take up any more of your time but I must that there were two requests for the floor that we have not followed up on we so we with your permission of course to give the floor to two countries who did not have the opportunity to speak Iraq and China if the representatives are still in the room if they're not here I think our work is done and we can continue so before moving to close I would like to following the director general to state that of course we're going to follow up the strategy conference regional conferences that will lead up to Istanbul congress in 2016 so of course we must take the opportunity now to give the floor to Turkey now the host of the conference 2016 so Turkey Turkey you have the floor if he's not in the room Turkey Turkey you have the floor Hello everyone Turkey we will host the European meeting in 2016 in Istanbul the things the law has been changed in 2013 and we adopted new law by this law we the regulation and the administration and the regulation has changed we determined as the regulator of the sector and we will try to in 2016 to arrange the all the things about the meeting we look forward to seeing you in Istanbul Thank you Thank you Turkey for those words I hope we'll all see you in Istanbul in 2016 I'd like to give the floor to China now and I do apologize for taking us back Thank you for giving me the floor we'd like to take this opportunity to say how much we appreciate the work of the international bureau directed by the director general Mr Bishar Hussein and the deputy director general Mr Kliwaz since they took on their role a strong management team indeed a stable one at the UPU international bureau is absolutely necessary and we're convinced that the director general Mr Hussein and the deputy director general Mr Kliwaz are capable of continuing to lead the organization and help the member states meet all of the challenges that we are currently facing and promote the development of the postal sector worldwide Thank you Thank you China for those very kind words so ladies and gentlemen this brings us to the final straight of this strategy conference after that engaging speech by the director general I don't think I need to make a speech but I'd like to just say a few words if you allow me and beg your indulgence we've come to the end of this 2015 world strategy conference on the issue of innovative strategies integrated and inclusive strategies and to deal with that issue the UPU developed a program with nine panels dealing with very very interesting and instructive issues having noted that globalization led to increasingly fast changes in the world we heard that the postal sector was part of those changes and needed to actually respond to those changes by extending their networks posts have a fundamental role to play in the development policies of our countries in particular in relation to inclusion and poverty reduction strategies in our countries ladies and gentlemen I heard often that the postal sector was a postal family and the fact that there are so many and high level delegations here at this conference and at this closing ceremony I believe is clear proof of that solidarity let's ensure that we work together to help our respective posts take further steps forward and rise to the challenges that we all face ladies and gentlemen over two days we've talked about change transformation and I think it's quite obvious the change itself isn't really a choice but it's an obligation the director general has repeated that and has said that it's an obligation for all of us our peoples have legitimate expectations that our institutions, governments multilateral organisations have a duty to respond to we have that obligation to provide innovative solutions integrated and inclusive solutions to our peoples the good news is that we can do it we are capable of rising to that challenge and I'm sure that we can do that if we work together the world will continue to evolve and so the postal sector needs to evolve along with that and continually adapt so far we've always managed to do that and I'm sure that we'll be able to do that in the future so let's remain actors and drivers of change in this world ladies and gentlemen distinguished delegates I'd like to finish on behalf of His Excellency Alassan Watara President of Côte d'Ivoire and on behalf of the Prime Minister I'd like to express our thanks the sincere thanks of Côte d'Ivoire to the Director-General Mr Bishah Hussein to the Deputy Director-General Mr Vassal Clivas and indeed to all of the staff of the International Bureau for the quality of the way in which they have welcomed us here and the way in which they have treated my delegation since we arrived here in Geneva I'd also like to congratulate all of the panellists the experts for their various contributions to the discussion and for the brilliant comments that we've heard over the past two days and I'd like to thank all of you delegates and I'd like to congratulate you all for your respective contributions to the success of our work so can I have a round of applause please for everybody when we leave Switzerland who has welcomed us so well I would like to reiterate the thanks of Côte d'Ivoire to the whole of the postal community and to this country which is so close to our hearts I assure you that your hopes I think have been met by coming here and I really hope that we've done this event justice so by way of conclusion I'd just like to say that Côte d'Ivoire would like to reiterate its determination to support UPU and the international postal community in rising to all of the challenges faced by our countries currently and in the future and could I wish you all a safe journey home to your countries I declare this conference closed to this 2015 world strategy conference thank you very much for your attention