India will take over the leadership of the Asian Pacific Postal Union (APPU) from this month, an official release said on Tuesday.
Following the successful elections held during the 13th APPU Congress held in Bangkok during August-September 2022, Vinaya Prakash Singh, erstwhile Member (Personnel), Postal Services Board, will take over the charge of Secretary General of the Union for a tenure of four years.
"India will take over the leadership of the APPU having its Headquarters in Bangkok, Thailand from this month," the release said.
Asian Pacific Postal Union (APPU) is an intergovernmental organisation of 32-member countries of the Asian-Pacific region.
APPU is the only Restricted Union of the Universal Postal Union (UPU) in the region, which is a specialised agency of the United Nations, the release added.
The goal of APPU is to extend, facilitate and improve postal relations between member countries and promote cooperation in the field of postal services.
As the regional centre for various UPU projects, APPU also takes the lead in ensuring that all technical and operational projects of UPU are fulfilled in the region so that it is integrated into the global postal network in the best possible way.
Secretary General leads the activities of the Union and is also the Director of the Asian Pacific Postal College (APPC) which is the largest intergovernmental postal training institute in the region.
"My goal is to improve the regional coordination with postal players in the Asia Pacific region to improve the growth of business through the postal network, to ensure the sustainability of the Union, and to revamp the training courses offered at APPC,” Singh said.
Vineet Pandey, Secretary, Department of Posts, noted that this is the first time an Indian is leading an international organisation in the postal sector.
"At this crucial juncture for the sector, it is a privilege for the Department to have its officer lead the activities of the Union, especially beginning from this year of India's G20 presidency," Pandey said.