International post

The UPU is a United Nation specialized agency that was founded in 1874 and has 192 member countries. It is the primary forum for the international cooperation between postal sector players. Norway was one of the founding members and has since supported and contributed to the important work of the Union.

Norway is a vast country with 5,52 million inhabitants. In a European scale, Norway stands out with a settlement pattern with some larger metropolitan areas, as well as significant areas with dispersed settlements. Norway is also characterised with a challenging topography and occasionally tough weather conditions. Along with digitalisation, that has led to declining letter volumes. This challenges the sustainability of the universal postal services when ensuring the provision of high-quality postal services. The government therefore appointed an independent expert committee to investigate how the future postal services can best be organized regarding a number of societal needs. The expert committee submitted their report with recommendations to the government on the design of future postal services in December 2024. 

Candidacy for the Council of Administration (CA)

Norway seeks election to the Council of Administration (CA) in the Universal Postal Union for the term 2026-2029, at the upcoming UPU Congress in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, in September 2025.

As one of the founding members of the UPU, Norway has always regarded the UPU as an important forum for international postal cooperation both at global and regional levels. We have consistently supported the UPU and contributed to the important work of the Union both as members and observers to the CA and the POC. We believe that our contribution is valuable to the Union and have therefore decided to present our candidature for election to the CA, to continue this commitment.

• Norway has experiences with navigating the substantial changes observed in our national market, due to digitalisation through e-substitution and e-commerce. We believe in the importance of preserving the global postal network while also considering the drastic evolution of the postal market and believe our experiences can be valuable to other member countries adapting to a new postal future.
• Our Designated operator, Posten Bring AS, has extensive experience in developing the UPU remuneration systems and promoting inter-operability between member countries.
• Norway contributes to, and focuses on sustainability in several areas, also within the postal sector. Posten Bring AS has implemented ambitious environmental sustainability strategies, resulting in considerable improvements in its operations and is also actively engaged in postal operators’ international cooperation on greenhouse gas measurement systems and reductions.

We strongly believe that the UPU should continue to play an important intergovernmental role in addressing the many challenges facing the postal industry, both at global and regional levels. Norway believes in the upholding of the shared principles of international law and the strengthening of the UN and other global institutions. Norway, as a future member of the CA, will utilise its skills and resources to benefit the international postal community.