Alexei Borodin, Director General of the Regional Commonwealth in the Field of Communications, and Masahiko Metoki, Director General of the Universal Postal Union, held their first official meeting in Bern, Switzerland, on 12 April 2024.

The parties discussed the status and prospects of co-operation between the Union and the Commonwealth, as well as a number of pressing issues and problems for the region.

The UPU secretary general expressed interest in strengthening co-operation with the RCC as the UPU's regional union, in particular in updating the Memorandum of Understanding between the RCC and the UPU. He noted that while the UPU has been active and successful in implementing joint-projects with the RCC/CIS states, the International Bureau is interested in expanding the Commonwealth's role in building ties in the region.

The RCC Director General raised a number of issues that are of interest to telecom administrations and designated operators, firstly in the run-up to the spring session of the UPU's Council of Administration and Postal Operations Council and secondly, that they see as significant in terms of the future functioning of the Union.

Thus, the conversation touched on the UPU's long-term strategy for regional unions, plans to organise joint UPU-RCC activities in the region, a number of problems related to the unilateral termination by some UPU member countries of postal exchanges with some RCC Communications Administrations, and the prospects for a more focused UPU regional presence in the RCC and CIS. Possible mechanisms to strengthen the role of UPU member countries in discussing the management of the UPU's financial and human resources were also discussed.

The meeting was also attended by Maria Bolshakova, Acting Deputy RCC Director General, on behalf of the RCC, and Mutua Mutusi, Director of Cooperation Development, and Akio Miyaji, Senior Special Adviser to the Executive Management, on behalf of the UPU.