H.E. Sultan Saeed Al Mansoori, the UAE Minister of Communications and Chairman of Emirates Post, accompanied by Abdulla Ibrahim Al Daboos, Director General, Emirates Post, today (Tuesday) officially opened the World Mail, Express and Air Cargo Expo, Middle East and Africa, the premier regional forum for the mail, express and air cargo industries.

Al Mansoori was accompanied by senior representatives of Streamline Marketing and Triangle Management Services, joint organisers of the event, as he cut the ribbon to officially inaugurate the two-day exhibition and conference taking place at Dubai World Trade Centre.

He then toured the exhibition hall where international exhibitors representing countries including Germany, USA, UK, Canada, Qatar, Jordan and the UAE are displaying a diverse array of products and services set to shape the future of the mail, express and air cargo industries in this region.

The 22nd event in a successful world series, the conference-led event re-confirms Dubai’s position as a key global trader and stands out as unique thanks to the inclusion of the air freight industry, which is being recognised due to the transient nature of Dubai as a trade city.

By the close of proceedings today, organisers expected to receive a large number of VIPs including the CEOs of the Tunisian, Kenyan, Sierra Leone and Lebanese postal services. Other major national postal services attending comprise those from Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Yemen, South Africa, Jordan and Qatar.

Key speakers addressing an international audience of visitors today included H.E. Sultan Saeed Al Mansoori, who is also patron of the event, and Abdulla Ibrahim Al Daboos, Director General, Emirates Post, who gave a Middle East perspective on the mail industry.

Major postal, express and air freight issues being debated at the exhibition, include the liberalisation of the postal sector, a mammoth task for an industry which last year delivered 204 billion pieces of mail globally and employs six million people in India alone.

A common theme that runs through the exhibitors’ displays is the way the mail, express and air cargo sectors have diversified to meet new technological and cultural challenges, with the exhibition stand of host sponsor Emirates Post focusing on the company’s expanded services such as retail, banking, airline ticket reservation and utility payment services.

United Parcel Service (UPS), the largest express carrier and package delivery company in the world, is also using the World Mail, Express & Air Cargo Expo to showcase its latest technologies. John Tansey, General Manager, United Parcel Service (UAE) LLC, said: "The World Mail, Express and Air Cargo Expo provides UPS with a platform to share our vision of synchronised commerce UPS technology and to demonstrate how our local-to-global customer service adds value for customers in the UAE. The event also enables us to hear firsthand from the market itself about changing business demands so that we can continue to offer the most tailored service possible.”

Other exhibitors have chosen the event to share regional expansion plans. For example, ARAMEX, the Middle East’s leading transportation company, has revealed significant development plans for the area, including the opening of new logistics centres in Dubai, Cairo, Jeddah and Beirut and a major expansion of the existing facility in Amman.

The inclusion of the air cargo sector for the first time at a conference of this kind has allowed TCS Express Worldwide to exhibit its Freight Express product, an economic and worldwide door-to-door airfreight service. The company also has information about its Sentiments Express product – an online gift delivery service that will soon be available in the region.

Other organisations among the international collection of exhibitors at the World Trade Centre until 5pm today, are freight and logistics organisations, new technology houses, airlines and postal authorities.

Alongside Emirates Post as host sponsor, Aramex and DHL are premium sponsors and FedEx, TCS, Qatar Post and Dubai Cargo Village are all support sponsors for the duration of the event.