The 26th edition of the Universal Postal Congress, which will run until Oct. 7, opened in Istanbul yesterday with a ceremony attended by Prime Minister Binali Yıldırım. The congress brings together some 2,500 delegates from 192 countries who will discuss the future of postal sector.

Turkish Post (PTT) hosts the event where the global post strategy for 2017 to 2020 will be defined. Delegates will discuss technological advancements in the communications sector and address the problems in the postal sector. They will also discuss using the potential of postal services in digital economies. The congress is promoted as the first "paper smart" edition where most documents for the congress will be presented digitally rather than on paper at a time when delivering letters has become a secondary field for postal services.

"In an environment where technology, commerce and communication develops, people did not steer away from one another, but got closer, and this understanding was reflected onto the post as well," Yıldırım said at the ceremony.