The UPU welcomes the Republic of South Sudan as a new member country.

South Sudan becomes 192nd member country

South Sudan officially became the 192nd country to join the UPU this week. Its membership became effective on 4 October 2011.

The new country gained membership following an official government request and declaring its accession to the Constitution and the Acts of the Union.

As a prerequisite for UPU membership, South Sudan first became the 193rd United Nations member state in July, on the basis of resolution 65/308.

“The Universal Postal Union is pleased to welcome South Sudan as a member of the global postal family,” said its director general, Edouard Dayan. “The postal network is an important infrastructure that helps respond to inhabitants' communication needs as well as a country's socioeconomic development. We will be delighted to work with government and postal officials to help them develop their national postal network and provide technical and regulatory advice.”

Following a referendum on self-determination, the Republic of South Sudan seceded on 9 July 2011, becoming independent from the Republic of Sudan.

South Sudan has 8.26 million inhabitants. It is a federation of ten states, each subdivided into 86 counties. It covers around a third of the area of the former unified Sudan.

Source: http://www.upu.int, October 6, 2011