Bahrain marks World Post Day

Manama, Oct.8 (BNA): The Kingdom of Bahrain today joins the international post community in celebrating "World Post Day", which is celebrated every year on October 9th, commemorating the anniversary of the establishment of the Universal Postal Union (UPU) in 1874 in the Swiss capital, Berne. "World Post Day" was officially declared by the UPU Congress held in Tokyo, Japan, in 1969. Every year, more than 150 countries celebrate World Post Day, utilizing the occasion to promote or launch postal products and services, and to create awareness of the importance of the postal industry to individuals and companies. On this occasion, Assistant Undersecretary of Postal Affairs at the Ministry of Transportation and Telecommunications (MTT), His Excellency Shaikh Bader bin Khalifa Al Khalifa, said: "Bahrain Post has achieved several recent milestones, such as the issuance of the Postal Law this year, providing the Kingdom with its own law whereas previously we used to implement the UPU laws. In addition, the Ministry has just established a new directorate, which is now responsible for studying and regulating the Kingdom’s postal industry, issuing licenses for operators, and monitoring service provision. "To ensure high quality services for clients, Bahrain Post has utilized the Radio Frequency Identification system via the UPU. This system enables us to monitor and evaluate post services, thereby providing an enhancement mechanism for us where we find areas of improvement. Using this system has enabled us to become more competitive in relation to postal services around the world," said Shaikh Bader. As part of Bahrain Post’s efforts to safeguard revenues and expenditures, and to ensure an efficient workflow that meets excellent quality standards in efficiency and service, MTT has conducted a detailed study of the market to find the most effective means to utilize allocated budgets. This includes reviewing the costs of airmail, resulting in the signing of numerous contracts through which Bahrain Post was able to reduce airmail tariffs by 35%. "In addition to the operational achievements, Bahrain Post is also very proud to have won numerous accolades for our stamps. We won third place with a Bronze medal (for the second consecutive time) in the 11th International Contest for Postal Stamps, held as part of the activities of the Malaysia 2014 World Youth Stamp Exhibition in December," said His Excellency. Bahrain Post also won third place overall and a bronze medal in Group (A) at the 10th International Philatelic Competition held under the auspices of the Universal Postal Union (UPU) at the A.S. Popov Museum of Communications in St. Petersburg, Russia from 25-27 June 2013. Philatelists and individuals who are interest in collecting stamps can purchase commemorative stamps from a large selection available at the MTT headquarters in the Bahrain Financial Harbor.