Israel has not been reelected to the Universal Postal Union (UPU) Council of Administration at the Universal Postal Congress at Doha, Qatar. Israel has served on the Council of Administration for the past four years, but lost its bid for reelection.
The Israeli delegation to the UPU Congress arrived late, after meetings had already begun, due to difficulties in ironing out security arrangements with the Qataris.
At early UPU Congress meetings, the Palestinian Authority delegation called for direct delivery of mail, instead of going through Israel. The request was rejected, and the Palestinians will continue to receive mail under the current arrangements with Israel. However, it is unclear how other countries will act in the future if they decide on independent initiatives to send mail directly to the Palestinian Authority, efforts which Israel has blocked to date.
Israel Postal Company Ltd. believes that political considerations, which could not be changed, were behind the failure to win reelection to the Council of Administration, and that this is part of the price Israel is paying for its diplomatic isolation. Some parties believe, however, that Israel should have taken the diplomatic risk into account and prepared its reelection bid better, which might have improved its chances.
Israel has been a member of UPU since 1949.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on October 11, 2012
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