Somalia Rejoins UN’s Universal Postal Union after Three Decades

MOGADISHU, April 11 — Somalia has officially rejoined UN specialized body for postal services Universal Postal Union (UPU) in Bern, Switzerland, after more than two-decade-long of sanction.

The long absence of Somalia from the world’s postal system was not limited to the failure of the central government in Mogadishu but was also due to the millions of dollars of unpaid debt to the UPU.

This was not the only debt Somalia has owed to the international bodies on which its participation could pave the way for many important developmental programs. It was last year when Mr. Ashur has cleared another long overdue debt for International Telecom Union (ITU) to resume its full membership in the organization.

Abdi Ashur Hassan, Somalia’s minister for the post, telecom and technology, and Bishar Hussein, UPU director-general, signed on Tuesday 11th of April 11, 2019 installment plan under which Mogadishu undertakes to pay its debt over a period of 10 years starting from 2019.

“The agreement would not only help lift sanctions imposed on Somalia but also open doors for Somalia to become an active member in the union after decades of absence,” Hassan said in a statement.

The debt, amounting to 1.88 million U.S. dollars for the unpaid membership fees and accrued interest since 1982, came at a time when Somali Postal Service was not accessing the services as the country’s postal service was destroyed in the civil war in 1991.

The deal now allows the UPU’s 192 member states to resume sending mail to Somalia once the arrangements are finalized. Although the full membership of Somalia in the UPU organization has been resumed, yet, it would take time for postal services of Somalia to be operational in full scale due to the absence of the necessary infrastructure and UPU will be working with Somalia to facilitate the reconstruction of Somali postal services.

Somaliland.com