Azerbaijan, Baku, 5 March / Trend corr. S.Babayeva / Azerbaijan will nominate its candidature for membership to the Administrative Council of Universal Postal Union (UPU) during the 24th Congress of UPU in Bern, the Azerbaijani Communication and IT Ministry reported.
"We are planning to participate in the congress with a broad delegation and it is a relevant event in the postal history of the country," the Ministry said. The UPU Congress will be held in Bern from 23 July to 12 August.
The UPU is an international organization that coordinates postal policies between member nations, and hence a world-wide postal system. Each member country agrees to the same set of terms for conducting international postal duties. The Universal Postal Union's headquarters are located in Berne, Switzerland.
Azerbaijan has been an UPU member since 1993 and a member of the Administrative Council of the organization which was elected during the congress in Bucharest.
Azerbaijan's membership in UPU is relevant from a point of view of the country's interests within the organization and integration into the world community.
The UPU was created in 1874, under the name "General Postal Union", as a result of the Treaty of Berne signed on 9 October 1874. In 1878, the name was changed to "Universal Postal Union".
Since 1947 UPU is an International Intergovernmental organization and specialized department of UN.
The UPU system sets separate letter and periodical rates for countries which receive at least 150 tonnes of mail annually. For countries with less mail, the original flat rate has been maintained. The United States has negotiated a separate formula with thirteen European countries that includes a rate per piece plus a rate per kilogram, and has a similar arrangement with Canada