Asian-Pacific Postal Union (APPU)

Context

Vinaya Prakash Singh, a 1988-batch Indian Postal Service officer, has been re-elected as Secretary-General of the Asian-Pacific Postal Union (APPU) for a second consecutive four-year term.

About Asian-Pacific Postal Union (APPU)

1. The Asian-Pacific Postal Union (APPU) is an intergovernmental organisation of 32 countries in the Asian-Pacific region.
2. It was established in 1961, and is headquartered in Bangkok, Thailand.
3. APPU is the only Restricted Union of the Universal Postal Union (UPU) in the Asian-Pacific region.
4. The UPU is a specialised agency of the United Nations dealing with postal services.
5. APPU aims to strengthen postal relations and promote cooperation among its members.

Key Functions

1. APPU develops a regional position on global postal issues and strategies.
2. It works to improve services related to express delivery, parcels, e-commerce, logistics, letter post and financial services.
3. It helps member countries develop new postal services and products.
4. It also facilitates the implementation of UPU technical and operational projects in the region and helps connect the region with the global postal network.

Organisational Structure

APPU has three main bodies:

1. Congress: The supreme organ of the Union. It meets no later than two years after a UPU Congress.
2. Executive Council: Includes all member countries and meets annually to oversee the Union’s work.
3. APPU Bureau: Provides liaison, information, enquiry and training services to members.

Asian Pacific Postal College

1. The Secretary-General of APPU also serves as the Director of the Asian Pacific Postal College (APPC) in Bangkok.
2. APPC is the largest intergovernmental postal training institute in the region.

 Asian-Pacific Postal Union FAQs

Q1. How many countries are members of APPU?
Ans: APPU has 32 member countries from the Asian-Pacific region.

Q2. What is APPU’s link with the Universal Postal Union?
Ans: APPU is the only Restricted Union of the UPU in the Asian-Pacific region. It also helps implement UPU projects in the region.

Q3. What is the highest body of APPU?
Ans: The Congress is the supreme organ of APPU and deals with the highest-level functioning of the Union.

Q4. How often does the APPU Executive Council meet?
Ans: The Executive Council meets every year and consists of all APPU member countries.

Q5. What does the APPU Bureau do?
Ans: The Bureau provides liaison, information, enquiry and training services to member countries.

Q6. What is the Asian Pacific Postal College?
Ans: The APPC, located in Bangkok, is the largest intergovernmental postal training institute in the region. The APPU Secretary-General also serves as its Director.