Iraq rejoins international express mail network after ten-year absence

BAGHDAD — Iraq has rejoined the Express Mail Service Cooperative of the Universal Postal Union after more than a decade’s absence, the Ministry of Communications announced Saturday.

The ministry said the achievement, realized through the General Company for Post and Savings, marks “an important strategic step reflecting Iraq’s strong return to the international postal services system.” It described the move as a milestone in modernizing the postal sector that would raise performance efficiency, accelerate express mail transfers and strengthen confidence among international partners.

The EMS Cooperative is a UN body grouping more than 170 national postal operators around a shared express delivery network — one that takes priority over standard international mail and spans the majority of the world’s countries. Its parent organization, the Universal Postal Union, sets the rules governing international mail exchange among its 192 member states and has served as the primary intergovernmental forum for postal cooperation since 1874.