Discussions focused on historic stamp issue for Canada’s sesquicentennial as well as growing e-commerce
Representatives from India Post recently concluded a productive three-day visit to Canada, where bilateral meetings were held with senior officials from Canada Post to discuss a historic joint stamp issue.
Meetings were conducted in Ottawa and Toronto to discuss the long-standing working relationship between the two postal services. In addition to a joint stamp issue, e-commerce was a main topic of conversation between the two countries.
“This stamp – to mark the festival of Diwali – is Canada Post’s first joint issue with India. Not only will it represent our country’s proud diversity, it will celebrate the close bond between both countries,” said Deepak Chopra, president and CEO of Canada Post.
In attendance with Chopra were B. V. Sudhakar, secretary of the Department of Posts of the Government of India, and Dinesh Bhatia, consul general of India in Toronto.
FIRST-EVER JOINT ISSUE WITH CANADA & INDIA
The joint issue will feature two stamps marking Diwali, the Festival of Lights, with one stamp design from each country. The stamps will be released in each country on the same day in the fall of 2017.
“I am proud to have conducted the first ever visit to Canada Post. Issuing a joint stamp celebrating Diwali is a meaningful way to recognize the importance of this relationship to both countries,” said Sudhakar.
E-COMMERCE SERVICE
On e-commerce, the two postal services signed a bilateral agreement to work toward extending Xpresspost International service using the Express Mail Service (EMS) network.
According to Canada Post, Canadians sending items to India will see several improvements over the current International Parcel – Air service, including faster service; an on-time delivery guarantee; and end-to-end tracking and delivery confirmation.
“Both these initiatives are major milestones in Canada–India relations and I applaud Mr. Chopra and Mr. Sudhakar for their initiative and leadership in building new bridges for trade and goodwill between our two countries,” said Bhatia.