Special stamps mark 110 years of UAE’s postal services

Dubai: Did you know that the UAE’s first letter was posted by ‘airmail’ from Dubai Postal Agency via Sharjah Airport in 1932? Well, these and other historic milestones are being featured in a series of commemorative stamps issued by Emirates Post to celebrate 110 years of postal services in the UAE.

Abdulla Mohammed Al Ashram, Acting Group CEO of Emirates Post Group, said: “The Post’s history plays a prominent role in introducing the civilisation as well as the cultural and social traditions of the country, and documenting with stamps the heritage and customs of its people throughout time. We are proud to issue this commemorative stamp to celebrate 110 years of the launch of postal services in the UAE and the impact it had on the social and economic history of our nation, marking the moment when it began opening up to the world and the importance of Post in advancing its development.”

On this occasion, Emirates Post issued 225,000 commemorative stamps along with 1,000 First Day Cover Sheets available starting December 31 at all Emirates Post Central Customer Happiness Centres.

The UAE’s postal history has gone through different phases. In 1942, the Dubai Postal Agency transformed into a fully integrated post office providing customers with all postal services, with the first stamps issuance of the Trucial States in Dubai in 1961, followed by the opening of post offices in the other emirates in 1963 and 1964.

After the unification of the Emirates, the General Directorate of Postal Services was established under the Ministry of Communications in 1972, followed by the issuance of the first set of commemorative stamps bearing the name of the United Arab Emirates in 1973, which also marks the year the UAE joined the Universal Postal Union. In 1985, the General Postal Authority established before the 2001 Federal Decree to create the Emirates Postal Establishment (Emirates Post) was issued. In 2006, the United Arab Emirates was selected by the Universal Postal Union to host a strategic conference for the first time outside Universal Postal Union’s headquarters.

In 2013, the Federal Law to establish Emirates Post Group was issued and in 2016, EPG received the title of the first postal entity worldwide to receive the International Standards for Service Excellence certification from the British Standards Institution (BSI) Middle East and Africa. In the same year, the company achieved the fastest postal delivery service in the world according to the Integrated Index of Postal Development. In 2018, the UAE was ranked eighth in the world’s top 10 countries and the first among Arab countries for International Express Mail Services. In 2019, Emirates Post deployed a Business Transformation Strategy to meet global industry demands, secure continued business growth, and maintain its position as a leading postal organisation proudly serving the UAE.