Dear Comrades,
On the eve of World Post Day we celebrate the UAE’s 104-year-old mail service
Dubai: Before there were post boxes and same-day delivery, UAE’s post moved across the desert on camel-back.
Wednesday marks World Post Day, and it is the year the country’s postal system — Emirates Post — turns 104 years old.
Fahad Al Hosani, acting
president of Emirates Post Group, said: “Emirates Post has emerged as
the leading postal corporation in the region, offering diversified
services by using innovation and technology. We have been constantly
expanding our portfolio of non-postal services, while at the same time
upgrading our postal offerings. As a result, our network of over 120
post offices located across the UAE, provide the most varied services.
“On the occasion of World
Post Day, we are delighted to reiterate our commitment to delivering
quality service to individual and corporate customers.”
The letters that now zip to their destination in a matter of hours, can trace a long, rich history in the UAE.
All mail went through UAE’s
first post office, which opened in Dubai in 1909. At the time, since the
UAE was still 62 years from formation, the post office in Dubai was
managed by the Indian Post Office Services.
Abdullah
Mohammad Al Ashram, chief executive officer (CEO) of Emirates Post,
said: “The posts came under the dominion of different... country...
controlling the area. During the transitional period [when India gained
its independence in 1947 and Pakistan separated from it], Indian stamps,
printed over with the word ‘Pakistani’, were used on letters and
parcels sent through the Dubai office.”
In 1948, the British Postal
Administration took over management of the Dubai post office and the
services were extended to the rest of the emirates.
Post offices in the various
emirates were linked to Dubai’s office, in order to receive and dispatch
private mail through Dubai Airport.
When Abu Dhabi’s government took over operations in 1967, the use of British stamps ceased.
Al Ashram said: “With the
establishment of the UAE federation on December 2, 1971, it turned out
to be a turning point in the development of post in the region.”
Today, there are more than
400,000 PO boxes in the UAE and thanks to advanced technology, the post
office has sophisticated sorting machines that ensure mail is delivered
within one day.
A focus on innovation has
also helped UAE’s post offices to become the nerve centre for a host of
non-postal services, such as registration of tenancy contracts, money
transfers, payments for utility bills and so on.
Al Ashram said: “Post office
counter staff can offer multiple postal and non-postal services. In most
cases, the computer system has a real-time link with partners, so that
transactions are recorded instantly.”
With each added facility, the
postal service of the UAE sets a new benchmark for the region. Locally,
too, new initiatives are underway.
“A door-to-door mail delivery
system has been introduced recently on a selective basis in certain
villa communities in Dubai,” Al Ashram said. “The plan is to extend this
service to other communities across the country.”
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