 Please, could I ask you to take your seats? Mr. Nambo Yao. Mr. Nambo Yao, President of the Board of Administrations. Mr. Jean-Paul Forseville, President of the Board of Postal Exporting. Mr. the General Director of Tokyo, Mr. the Vice-Director General, Mr. Oswald, Mr. Hussain, Mr. Cliva. Excellent. Ladies and gentlemen, my name is David Dodge. I am the Director of Communication here at UPU. Today is a very special day. We are here to assist in the transfer of power, the transition of power between Mr. Hussain and Mr. Metoki. In the presence of Mr. Hussain and Mr. Pascal Cliva, who have been at the head of this union for nine years as Director General and Vice-Director General. With Mr. Isaac Nambo Yao, they will welcome the new Director General of UPU, Mr. Masaiko Metoki and the Vice-Director General, Mr. Oswald. To start the official ceremony, I would now like to invite the President of the Board of Administrations at the Tribune. Do you have the floor, Mr. Oswald? Ladies and gentlemen, each of you, in your grade and quality and all the protocol observed, it is with great emotion that I find myself here among you, in view of presiding this transfer ceremony, on the one hand, the Director General coming out of the international office, and the new Director General elected, and on the other hand, the Vice-Director General coming out and the new Vice-Director General, the new Director General elected during the 27th Congress of the Universal Postal Union, which was held in Abidjan, in the Republic of Côte d'Ivoire. Therefore, I would like to warmly thank each of you all for your words of congratulations following my designation in the name of the Republic of Côte d'Ivoire, which has been the President of the Board of Administrations of the Universal Postal Union. I would like to thank all of you who have been under the influence of the pleasant friendship that I have with you all for more than a decade now. This is said, my first words go to the place of the new Director General of the United States. My dear Masaiko Metoki, I would like to once again congratulate you for your brilliant election at the head of our institution on August 25, 2021, last year in Abidjan. Indeed, from the very beginning of the 27th Congress of the Universal Postal Union in Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire, you have been able to receive the maximum express voice. Mr. Director General Masaiko Metoki, your long career in public service, in particular in the postal sector, has certainly been an asset to you. You know the U.P. since you represented your country, Japan, as the President of the Postal Export Council since 2012. You also presided over the Commission of the 22nd Congress in charge of financial services and the CEP financial services group, and you have been at the head of the very first review of the Universal Postal Convention, thus allowing the expedition by the post of equipment, batteries or batteries. From the announcement of your election, I noted with all members of our organization your commitment to continue the reform of the postal industry and to face the challenges, the different problems with the involvement of all members of the country without exception. For this, you want to create an engaged team to try to solve the problems of the Union and to provide assistance that meets the needs adapted for each country. I encourage you to try to count on the commitment of all of you to help our organization in the highest position of the United Nations organizations. Mr. Bishah Hussain, you have passed the testimony today in this beautiful atmosphere to your successor. I would like to address you all my thanks for your great contribution during your mandate for nearly a decade for the recovery of our institution. Under your leadership, many reforms have been committed and applied, especially those going in the direction of the promotion of the equality of people at the level of members of the Council, but also of the equality of chances in the face of the states, said in the voice of development, which in the past did not have a real force of participation in decisions. I remain convinced that even after your departure, the post you are being held, you will remain engaged with the actors of the sector, by bringing your expertise to the new renaissance post. As for the new Vice-Director General of the United Nations, Mr. Marianne Oswald, I have been able to note that you are a great supporter of public infrastructures because they can be managed more efficiently. You are an experienced person having experienced important responsibilities in relation to operations, strategy and sales in the international postal sector throughout your 24 years of professional experience. You will be transferred to our Union, all that you have better under the direction of Mr. Masaiko Metoki. I will not be able to say a word to my dear friend Pascal Cliva. Mr. Vice-Director General, as I said in our exchanges, even if it is difficult to play, it is worse not to have ever tried to succeed. The real defeat is the one that comes after a non-combat. You have fought the non-combat and I remain convinced that you will win at the next stage of a better success. I can only wish you the best after your departure from your post of Vice-Director General. I know that I can count on you all, in my quality as President of the Administration Council for our Union. While you are all renewing my esteem and my wish to succeed, I thank you for your kind attention. Thank you very much. Thank you very much Mr. Namba Yao. I will now give the floor to the former Vice-Director General of the UPU, Mr. Pascal Cliva, to speak his official speech of power transition. Mr. President of the Administration Council for our Union, Mr. President of the Postal Exploitation Council for our Union too, Mr. Director General, Mr. Metoki, Mr. Vice-Director General Oswald, Mr. former Vice-Director General, Ambassador Hussain. Ladies and gentlemen, dear friends and dear others, Happy and happy New Year to all of you. I greet you cordially and especially, one last time the interpreters who will allow me to express myself in the official language of the French Postal Union. The language I have always defended, so much so that it bears the diversity and the richness of our geographical and cultural origins. I am happy that this approach has been able to find its materialization in the signature of an agreement with the International Organization of Francophony during the summit of the heads of state and government in November 2016 in Madagascar. It brings me the pleasure of opening this official speech. History continues with, obviously, other protagonists. It is now time to leave this very, very beautiful organization, the Universal Postal Union. In 16 years of postal diplomacy and in the US, in more than 20-50 postal careers, it was an honour and a real pleasure to engage for the evolution of this venerable public service to become an intermediary in our modern consumption modes. I was the 13th and youngest director of this organization and still today. It is for me a very beautiful stage of life. From the law on post, going through the first European directive and the treaties of the Universal Postal Union, the lawyer I am has been filled in these fields. From the reforms and finances of the US, including its certification to the YPSAS norms, to the four strategic plans I have conducted, I was able to put other skills to the service of the Universal Postal Union. The reforms, a phenomenon that will always be characterised here and elsewhere as the president of the regional bank and as the administrator of society, I will always and again be part of the unaltered fight against the status quo. With my responsibilities at the head of the strategy and then as Director-General, I have put a special focus on the development of long-term visions because they are the only guarantees of perennies. We see it now, on a daily basis, nothing is normal anymore. We must do with and above all reinvent ourselves because even in the absence of a compass, the world has no more. We see it while the US has been discussing long-term issues such as subalternation and the presidency of working groups. The new post-postal protagonists are in space. Amazon and other giants of logistics know how much they have done and take advantage of the immobilisation and actors' lanterns, yet very far-off. If we consider the figures of business that they generate today, time is no longer in terms of money. Let's say that the UPU will be able to put the cursor in the right place for its role and its reason of being verified with permanence in the coming years. I really wish it for all of us. The transition of power is a particular moment and obviously a privilege that invites us to think about power. For me, it is the one that I have never exercised, the one of the general director. But it is obviously under another form, the one of the proximity and advice that the power of the general director's vice-director is exercised, the power to convince the decision-maker. It is, of course, more subtle in the exercise because it is the only force of conviction that can help you to change things. This power is the one that belongs now to my friend Marianne Oswald. It is the one that imposes a force of conviction and a capacity to integrate. At the UPU, it is well known that power is in the hands of the general director. Now it is to Mr. Metoki that it is a combination of these important responsibilities. Congratulations again. Periodic exercise. Serious. As long as it leads to duality between adhesion and confrontation at the moment of conflict. I do not doubt, however, in your capacity to anticipate, to untie the traps that will not lack the power of experience. Place the flambeau. It is also in this new Olympic year that you put back files and fields that open like the one from the building that now lives four diplomatic representations and the Swiss office of the UNHCR, which also reinforces in the passage the international and multilateral vocation of this beautiful city of Bern. The problems today requiring coordinated and plural answers allow me to salute the federal authorities as well as the city of Bern today. During these last nine years, the main risks identified have all been put under control. The main, in my opinion, is linked to the financing of the organization on its long term and above all on the serenity of its economic model. During my previous function as director of finance and strategy, between 2005 and 2013, the U.P.U. has taken the brave decision to change the accounting standards and thus place us in full responsibility. Under the Oulet d'Edouard D'Aillon, which I salute affectionately this morning, we have taken the option of ramp with a philosophy that left the future leaders the care to fix the commitments of the past. How could it have been other than our convictions and our principles of responsibility were identical and they remained the same? It is with the U.S. Ambassador that we have entered into the life of the subject with financial states that presented excessively passive and long-term obligations that quickly took the elevator. The main cause, a will marked to force international organizations to live under the regime called the zero nominal growth. Fortunately, other sources and above all other financing mechanisms could be expected. During the last few years, we have been able to bring additional recipes for nearly 50 million, especially in the center of our postulate that the principle of economic well-being that can be carried out by the U.P.U. must generate an economic well-being to the Union. We have negotiated a renegotiating of the preface decision made unanimously during the last Congress. I therefore invite those who will now face these questions to be inspired. This is only economic justice. Thus, if we still have the last intermediate state-of-the-art and I salute the federal control of finances, it seems that the risk linked to the continuity of exploitation is far away a little bit, which does not allow us to be at the brink for as long. This is not a simple reform of the system of contribution, but well thought-out the system of financing of the Union for which it integrates a larger proportion of financing by the users as soon as our products and services contribute largely to the implementation of added value. This will obviously allow the distribution of funds in a totally unbalanced world. We just have to think about what is going on in the face of this pandemic to make up for it. Solidarity, ladies and gentlemen, must remain constant. Despite the circumstances and financial failures that led us to certain austerities, our actions in terms of solidarity and cooperation a commitment an institutional balance in favor of developing countries and insular countries that are now back in action. Ladies and gentlemen, at the age of 16, I vaccinated children in Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso. I am proud to have at the age of 53 achieved certain ambitions that I have always had in favor of the United Nations system. It is part of my pride and my commitment because this, ladies and gentlemen, is concrete. During our demands, our roadways were clear and as soon as the risks were defined, we had to find the space to concretize. The implementation of strategies and business plans, two director tools, and a mobilized team despite the other winds, we succeeded. Thank you to the directors who led the movement that we had led and who proved talent and a remarkable team spirit in all circumstances. And circumstances and unexpected lies we have to imagine a dematerialization of our activities the digitalization of the universal postal union is totally realized. We are among the only organizations in the United Nations system to have held Paris, to gather all the instances until Congress during the pandemic as long as the decisions can be taken until the elections, the leaders and the bodies. Thank you to the Republic of Côte d'Ivoire. As it is the case since March 2020, the personnel established products and services since their domicile. I greet them where they listen to me. Everything is replicated, secured by audits and certifications. What will lead the new leaders to think about the implementation of a policy in the matter in the time to pass the witness. I think we have to thank him and our personnel without exception these women and these men who were the artisans of the possible. We have to send him this tribute which comes back fully. We have been able to count on the knowledge, skills and expertise that are necessary to obtain all the results that were ours during these last nine years. This personnel that we have widely diversified in terms of geographical but also in terms of gender. The personnel is also the daily it is life. And allow me to think about our colleagues who left us a few days ago during our mandate. They will never and never be engraved in our memories. Nine years of turbulence, of change, of successive crises which forced us to propose the meeting of four congregants in two extraordinary. All these moments did not have the reason of our determination. On the contrary, they have made us more solid. The union has been put to the test including the one of the implosion but it has found its solutions. It is the own of our sector. It is not without reminding us of the family. This world is characterized by solidarity and an desire, especially to find optimal ways. Since I believe in the values of the family, it is towards mine that I return. The one who remains my only motivation to my wife and my son I want to tell them that the path is obviously not finished, that the fight continues because other events are waiting for us. To you, Mr Métoki, to you, Mr Oswald, to all those and those here and elsewhere in front of your screens, I wish you a year of rich discovery and obviously full of satisfaction, health and accomplishment. I thank you for your attention. Thank you very much. Thank you very much, Mr Cliva. I now invite the new Director General, Mr Marianne Oswald to pronounce his speech but before that, we could maybe take a photo with the former Director General as well. Yes, it would be a pleasure. Thank you. I would like to thank the Director General of the UPU Métoki-san Dear Isaac Namba-Yau, President of the Board of Administrations, Mr Oswald, Mr Cliva, excellent ladies and gentlemen. It is a real pleasure to be here today while I take my role as Vice Director General of the Universal Postal Union. I congratulate Mr Oswald of this organization, it is that Mr. Kliva, my predecessor, thank you Mr. Novoselor Hussein, thank you Pascal. I must admit that while I am here in front of you today, I have a feeling of deep respect, but also a feeling of enormous responsibility. When I presented my vision as a candidate in the Republic of Slovenia, I would always insist, not only on the responsibility, but also on transparency and on professional ethics. I believe in the importance of these principles that are the engine of all performance sectors. Today, the first thing I am going to do, in the direction of these objectives, is to pay close attention to the UPU. I solemnly swear, to exercise in all loyalty, discretion and conscience the functions that have been entrusted to me in terms of international functionaries of the Universal Postal Union, to make up for these functions and to adjust my conduct by having exclusively in view the interests of the Union, without seeking or accepting instructions from any government or other outside authority from the Union to the Union, regarding the accomplishment of my duties. I also make the declaration and the solemn promise to respect the obligations that come to me in virtue of the status and regulation of the personnel. The role of operators and postal services in the evolving society. The developed world had the chance to go through this evolution, the liberalization of traditional letters to become companies distributing packages, taking care of logistics and becoming companies of TIC. The least developed countries did not have this chance, at least what all countries have in common. This is the status of postal services and the post as an institution in the society that would largely depend on the owner, that is to say, essentially of the State. During my mandate, I will encourage the responsible owners to define the role of the post in their environment and to support their development. The universal postal union will therefore guide, coordinate and help members strengthen the quality and importance of postal services. Our task is to connect our private or enterprise clients. Let's not forget that our infrastructure is the best in the world. Excellent. Post services are part of the communication market, where the post letter seems to lose its importance. The emails dominate modern communication. Although letters are likely to become a tool for less important communication. While new technologies replace traditional couriers, they generate new packages by electronic commerce that force post-national operators to transform their business model, which not only uses their own economic resources but which also tries to reduce any social or environmental impact negative in their country and in the whole world. Solidarity has been a factor of important connection of our network in the past. What is the essence of solidarity? What gives us more gives us less. It's very simple. Without that, those who don't have the means can't progress and the fracture between developed countries and developed countries is only increased. Therefore, our mission must be to find a model of solidarity that will reduce the differences between us. Each government-based organization will have to face the fact that the world around us is evolving faster than they want. It's more particularly true for the universal post-unit union. We all know that we will have to change and adapt if we want to survive and succeed in a digital society that is not just about to arrive, but that is already there. Ladies and gentlemen, I came back to this building for the first time in 1997. It was exactly 25 years ago. I remember how impressed I was by the building. It seemed so majestic and I felt a lot of respect and it's a feeling that hasn't changed until today. And consequently, I promise, to the employees of the UPU, to the president of the UPU and the CA, to the commission and to the special teams, to the unrestricted units and especially to the member states. I promise to work with you all in the well-understood interest in the universal post-unit union. Thank you to my wife and to my former boss, Thomas. Thank you all. Happy New Year and thank you. Thank you. Thank you very much, Mr. Director General Oswald. I would now like to ask our Director General Sortan, Mr. Hussain, to come and present his remarks. Before I take the floor, I would like to ask you to proceed with the transmission of the key between one Director General and the other. You have the floor. Your Excellency. Your Excellency, Mr. Director General of the universal post-unit union, Mr. Metoki, Mr. Vice Director General of the international office of the universal post-unit union, Mr. Marian Oswald, Your Excellency, ladies and gentlemen, the ambassadors and chiefs of mission present here today, Your Excellency, the president of the administration council, Mr. Isaac Nyambayao, Mr. Forceville, president of the CEP, ladies and gentlemen, ladies and gentlemen, the representatives of the international office, hello everyone. I would like to express my deepest thanks to all of you. You give us the honor of your presence today on the occasion of this ceremony of the passing of power. The passing of power is a long tradition of the U.P.U., which means the transition and the formal change in the direction of this union. Once again, I wish you all the best. My friend, Mr. Masaiko Metoki and Mr. Marian Oswald, for their election, in the direction of the U.P.U. I would also like to ask the international office staff and members of the U.P.U. to support them in the monumental transformation of this organization to face the demand and the changing dynamics of the postal market. Pascal and I will play our role. We now have the new team to bring new ideas, new energy and new enthusiasm to follow this work. My successor, as you will soon realize, I say that the U.P.U. is different from the outside. The good news is that you have a very competent and qualified staff who will facilitate your task. Thank you for your support so that they can continue to help you. You will also realize that the union must continue to reform in many areas in order to face the dynamics of global activities. This is not always clear when you see it from the outside, or members of the U.P.U. or the secretariat of the international office. I ask you to help these two gentlemen to carry out the promises they made in their campaign manifesto. Today is not the day for me to make long speeches about our achievements, to highlight our challenges and our successes. All this is already written in the history books of the U.P.U. This is engraved in the marble. Many points have already been mentioned by my colleague, Mr. Pascal. It is enough for me to say that this journey has not been easy when we took our functions in 2013, and we have lived nine years of remarkable challenges and remarkable experiences that we will keep in our hearts. In this same room, many debates have been held. We have heard great ideas being expressed here in this room. I am very proud to say that myself, and my direction, and my colleagues, have been able to achieve 100% all the KPIs that have been set for us by the members of the U.P.U. during our two challenges. This is not a full-time achievement, ladies and gentlemen, but during this period, between 2013 and now, we have organized two successful congresses. In 2016, we held a congress in Istanbul, in very difficult circumstances. The country was experiencing political difficulties at the time. But we have together been able to hold a remarkable congress. And then, of course, 2018 came with its second extraordinary congress. Quickly, this union has encountered very important difficulties when one of our members of the United States of America threatened to leave the union because of a problem that existed for generations concerning remuneration and compensation. We were forced to organize another extraordinary congress in 2019, in Geneva, and once again, when the union came close to remuneration, the Secretary of the International Office assembled and allowed us to release a consensus of the most remarkable, among those I saw during my diplomatic career. It was a victory in Geneva in 2019. It allowed us to preserve the union and to keep the United States of America within the union with a very important sum of 40 million, which has already been mentioned by my colleague, which has allowed us to solve our pension crisis problems and which allows us to change the compensation system that we have today, excellence. It is not possible to denombrate the successes that we have achieved together. But I would like to say that the 2020 congress was reported because of the pandemic that we have experienced. And it is at this moment that we have been put to the test. The congress of this union could not hold itself in 2020 as planned. It was not due to the Secretary of State or to the government, but we found a solution. And in 2021, the Ivory Coast organized for us one of the most remarkable congresses in the history of the U.P.U. in a very serious pandemic situation. The first hybrid congress was held for the first time in the United Nations Command System. And I would like to express my gratitude to the government and the people of Ivory Coast. And I thank you, Mr. President. I ask you to convey our gratitude to the president and to the government of your country for this congress, which allowed us to read our new leaders. Excellent. Before I conclude these remarks, I would like to mention my country, Kenya. Mr. Ambassador, would you like to convey my deepest thanks to the people of Kenya who supported me and gave me wings to fly. You gave me the opportunity to direct this organization during these two months. And I am very grateful to you. Thank you for transmitting this message to the people and to the government of Kenya. Of course, I would like to thank the Ivory Coast. Mr. Isaac, thank you for organizing this excellent congress for us. I would like to thank the Secretary of the International Office, all my colleagues individually and collectively. You will always remain in my heart, with memories that will be very dear to me. Four congresses and so on. It is not an easy exercise in very difficult conditions, but we have always been solidary and we have realized what has been asked of us. It took time. I know that many have given up their holidays and I wish to convey my eternal recognition for the achievements we have accomplished together for your support. I would like to thank my colleague Mr. Pascal for his remarkable courage and for his role as film director. We have come and we have accomplished the achievements. We knew that it would not be easy, but we have made all the promises we had made and we have achieved the goals we had set. You will always have my full respect and I will always remember the time we spent together planning, executing, developing strategies and trying to solve the problems of this union. Mr. Pascal has many talents, I can tell you. The best fund I have ever eaten was prepared by Pascal. We went to his hut in the mountains when we had to go through difficult times. I can tell you that after a good meal, the good ideas are good. Mr. Pascal, you have many talents, you are a wonderful person, I will always remember your loyalty, your friendship, your courage, your determination and I could employ many other people. Excellent, there is a man I respect a lot. And he is not someone who represents the Secretary of the International Bureau. He is our editor of the Swiss Federal Audit, Mr. Didier Monot. He is sitting in the room. Mr. Didier Monot represents a federal office that is in charge of the external audit of this union. Over the last nine years, we have conducted 112 internal external audits. The federal office is in charge of checking the work that we have accomplished. They guided us through their advice. They told us when we were wrong, they corrected us and supported us when we did a good job. When we joined the union, we inherited thousands of questions related to audits and we managed to fix them. The nature of an audit is of course clear questions, but in opening new ones. What touched me in the context of these 12 audits is that we did not have any qualifications concerning major elements. During the last session, Mr. Monot was present in the room. He presented his views and very professional final observations. He had excellent things to say about the performance of the union and our mandate. With the VDG, he had very warm words in my eyes and in Pascal's eyes. Mr. Monot, I was not in the room that day, but I want to thank you for the excellent support that you have provided us with with your objective evaluation of this organization. I will always recognize you. We were able to respond to the expectations of the member countries. The trust and the respect they gave us were able to achieve our goal. Thank you, Mr. Monot. I would like to applaud him. Excellent. I wish to thank my family. My wife is sitting in the room. We met in 1984 after my studies at the University of Nairobi when I started my career in the Postal Service. She accompanied me throughout my career from the lowest levels of the direction of the Kenyan Post up to today on the slopes of the Alps at the top of my career. She is here in this city, in this country. She does not know anyone in this city. She has no friends in this city, but she is here and she also supported all the pressures that I supported. When I was at the lowest level, the courage and support that I needed, she told me that I was not someone who would abandon me and that I would therefore hesitate. She brought me this support that I could not quantify and that I could not replace her with my wife and the member of my family. I would like to thank you. Excellent. I will always remember the fire of my parents, my father and my mother, two wonderful people. Every time I talk to them, the tears appear in my eyes. They taught me the right way, they raised me. And of course, they trained me to be honest, straight, and they made me the man I am. They are not here today with me, but they are always in my prayers, in my thoughts, and I would like them to be sitting in this room today. They would be very proud of me. But since they are not present, they will always be in my heart and I will always remember them. I come from the places where I came from, from the north of Kenya, where there is no school, where there is no such thing that we consider as Akis here. They sent me to what I obtained the education necessary not in the school manual, but the things I needed so that in life, I would be the person I am. They told me that I always had to tell the truth to never accept situations that would alter my judgment. They told me to respect others, but they also taught me to respect myself. I hope to have answered their expectations, but we are human beings, we are feasible, and if I fail in one way or another, I ask for forgiveness from my friends. Whatever I did here during these 9 years, during difficult periods, because we have experienced difficult periods, I pushed the members of the country very hard sometimes. But all this was professional and has always been supported by the legal and professional advice of the people who are present here. Change is never stopped. There are challenges, but once again, we had no objective like the best interest of this union. I hope that you all will consider our lacunes if we have had them in this context. There was nothing personal about it when I quit my job today. I would like to forgive everyone and I ask for forgiveness from you all for everything we could have done or said during our functions that would have hurt you. With these remarks, excellent ladies and gentlemen, it has been an honor to lead this union and now that I am retiring, I wish to my colleagues, Mr. Metokie and Mr. Oswald, all the best in the respect of the ideals of this union to preserve it and maintain the breath of this organization during the war, during the peace, during the framework of the sea, during the tornado of the pandemic, the universal postal union being the first line to respond to the terrain. And it is the privilege that we have to all the women and all the men who risk their lives for humanity, the people who work for the postal service. I say hello and I hope to see you all in the future in other capacities. Thank you very much. Thank you very much. Thank you very much, Mr. Hussain. Mr. Director General Metokie, I would like to take your place of Mr. Hussain on the Strait in front of the flags in order to receive the key. I ask you to hold the key and to look straight towards the camera and to hold the key. Before doing so, I would like to say a few words. Excellent. It is a symbolic key which represents the power and authority on this building. This key was given to me by my predecessor. It is a long tradition to transmit it to the next leaders. It is a privilege and an honor to transmit this instrument to my colleague and friend, Mr. Metokie. Thank you. I wish you all the best. Ambassador Bichard Hussain, Mr. Pascal Cliva, Mr. Isaac Nyamba Yao, President of the Board of Administrations, Mr. Jean-Paul Forseville, President of the Board of Postal Exploitation, Mr. Marianne Oswald, Mr. Vice Director General of the UPU. Excellent. Ladies and gentlemen, dear colleagues, I wish you all a very good year. I am proud to receive this key and to become the 17th Director General of the UPU. The key that I hold in my hands is a symbol of the rich history of this organization and its long capacity in the course of 150 years of history to adapt and to prosper. It is also an honor for me to receive this key from Ambassador Hussain who, in the course of the last nine years, has led this organization with the greatest distinction. I give all my gratitude to Mr. Cliva Ensemble. You have worked without relief in the name of this organization and in doing so, you have proved leadership and commitment. In the name of all the people present today, I thank you both for your remarkable achievements. I also wish to thank the ambassadors or the permanent representatives of the member countries present today. I thank you for the confidence that you have placed in me. I will never forget the duty that I have for all of you. Allow me also to thank the government of the Elvetic Confederation, the UPU high country, the local authorities and the mayor of Berne for their support and their daily assistance to the UPU meeting. During my time, I will do everything that is in my power to consolidate the links that unite us. I also wish to thank the government of Japan for the confidence that they have placed in me and for the support that they have provided to the UPU. I also wish to thank the government of the Elvetic Confederation, the mayor of Berne for their support and their daily assistance to the UPU high country for their support and their daily assistance to the UPU high country for their support and their daily assistance to the UPU high country for their support and their daily assistance to the UPU high country for their support and their daily assistance to the UPU high country for their support and their daily assistance to the UPU high country for their support and their daily assistance to the UPU high country In having exclusively envisaged the interests of the Union without soliciting or accepting any government or any other authority outside the Union, which concerns the accomplishment of my duties. I also make the declaration and the sole promise of respecting the obligations that come to me in virtue of the status and regulation of the personnel. Now that I have taken the oath, I wish to reaffirm my commitment to make use of the general director's function to supervise the successful implementation of the Postal Strategy of Abidjan 2022-2025. The strategy is the fruit of a process of consultation and enlargement of our common wish to create a road sheet for the organisation until 2025. It explores the vision of a post as an essential engine for sustainable development and invites governments to do everything they can to reduce costs in postal development across the world. In addition to the need to harmonise post regulatory framework, these objectives constitute the central element of our work in the course of the future cycle. As a general director, I work sincerely with members of the country in order to make this strategy a success. I will also work in close collaboration with my general director, Marianne Oswald. He takes these functions, including a very rich experience in the postal sector. We will also benefit from the support of the staff of the UPU, who are the men and women of our organisation. We will also work in close collaboration with the presidents of our organisation, the council of administrations, the president of the council of postal exploitation, Mr. Jean-Paul Forseville. I will also work closely with the commission, the consultative committee and the special teams who will all play a crucial role in the implementation of the Abidjan strategy. More than ever, the Unions Restraints are part of the UPU community. I will continue to work in close collaboration with their leaders in order to establish partnerships and to continue the cooperation without the support of the Unions Restraints and the corporate work in the regions. We have no hope of making the Abidjan strategy. I will also work with our many international partners, including the programs and organisations of the United Nations. It is essential for the world to realise the development programme that will last until 2030. I think that the UPU and the international postal sector have significant roles to play in its implementation. Excellent. Ladies and gentlemen, although symbolic, this key reveals a great meaning. If we work in an effective and effective way, we will collectively ensure the success of the entire postal sector. That is why I have accepted this role, and that is why with you, I think we will be able to focus on the success of our predecessors and create a brilliant future for the UPU and the postal sector. Finally, I wish to express all my gratitude for participating in this ceremony, despite a difficult situation related to COVID-19. I also apologize for the cancellation of today's reception. Thank you for your attention. Thank you. I would like to invite everybody on the... I would like to invite all those who are at the Tribune to come out so that we can take a picture. I would also like to ask the President of the CEP to join us as well as the director of the Universal Postal Union. I would like to thank you. You have waited for the photo. Thank you. I'd just like to say, just before I... Before I finish, I would like to thank you for accepting to come. The weather was not very good today. When I woke up this morning, it was snowing, and I would also like to say that I am very happy to be in front of a microphone with a public in front of me. It's been two years, I think, so thank you infinitely for coming today. Thank you very much. You have been a great public. I wish you a very good return home. Thank you very much.