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The Republic of Armenia has been a member of the Universal Postal Union (UPU) since 1992. The Union is an intergovernmental international organization and has the status of a specialized agency of the United Nations. The Convention was signed on August 26, 2021, entered into force on July 1, 2022 and is valid for an indefinite period. It is the main document by which the RA document is regulated, which regulates the legal relations, relations and obligations of the RA National Postal Operator, Haypost CJSC, towards physical and legal entities. This was stated by the Deputy Minister of High-Tech Industry Davit Sahakyan during the NA regular sitting, presenting the draft law on Ratifying the Universal Postal Convention for debate.

The rapporteur noted that it is used both in the relations with the foreign national postal operator, and in regulating the relations with international air companies, customs services and other international organizations.

Davit Sahakyan informed that on August 9-27, 2021, the 27th extraordinary congress of the UPU was held, during which the amended version of the Convention was signed. The RA participated in that congress in a remote format, so there was no physical opportunity to sign it on the spot.

“The Convention can gain legal force only after it enters into force according to the procedure provided by the law on international agreements,” the Deputy Minister said and asked the parliamentarians to approve it.

The deputy of the Civil Contract Faction Gevorg Papoyan asked the Deputy Minister what amendments were made in the Convention.

Answering the MP’s question, the reporter mentioned that amendments have been made in several provisions.

“If any country or its national operator want to expand or change the list of products, the transfer of which is restricted or prohibited, they should apply to the international bureau, through which the partner postal operators will be informed to which country and with what restrictions they can deliver products. Changes were also made in the tariffs of postal parcels and services,” the Deputy Minister of High-Tech Industry said.

The deputy of the same Faction Armen Khachatryan asked the rapporteur: will there be a necessity to make legislative amendments in our country after not ratifying the convention in its amended version? The parliamentarian also inquired about how the quality of services of Haypost CJSC is evaluated.

“The Convention defines the relations with other postal operators. Last year, the RA adopted the draft law on Postal Communication, as a result of which the quality of services not only of Haypost, but also of 42 other licensed operators has improved,” the rapporteur said in response to the MP’s question and informed that Haypost is carrying out both structural and optimization work.

The co-rapporteur of the draft, the member of the Standing Committee on Economic Affairs Narek Ghahramanyan stated that the issue was debated in the relevant Committee and endorsed.

The RA Deputy Minister of High-Tech Industry Davit Sahakyan also presented the draft law on Ratifying the Agreement on Postal Payment Services for debate. The document regulates all the services regarding postal money transfer, including paper transfers and online transfers.

Narek Ghahramanyan informed about the endorsement of the NA Standing Committee on Economic Affairs.

The National Assembly adopted the debated Agreement and the Convention.