This Wednesday, September 30^th, at 11h00 in Lisbon (Mitra Palace), CTT – Correios de Portugal and ANAFRE – National Parishes Association – will formalise their agreement on the terms of the Protocol in force among them since 2003, in the scope of the provision of postal services in Parish Councils with postal agencies.

This partnership reinforcement strengthens an already historic relationship of nearly two decades, providing the Portuguese people the universal postal service provision.

Parish Councils are CTT’s preferential partner as regards the postal network coverage in Portugal. In fact, along these nearly two decades of protocol relationships, Parish Councils have been crucial to the development of the postal network. Apart from their 554 post offices, CTT has now more than 1.800 postal agencies, half of them located at Parish Councils.

Of the new terms that will be in force as of October 1^st, we would like to stress a significant improvement of the Parish Councils financial conditions, a wider services’ offer, the reinforcement of technical competences to the Parish Councils’ employees, and the creation of a joint working group that will follow the modernization and transformation process that is intended to be real with the Parish Councils with postal agencies.

To João Bento, CTT’s CEO, “this partnership reinforcement now effectively real is a clear proof of CTT’s proximity to populations, this time through the local authorities hereby represented by the Parish Councils. CTT and ANAFRE reinforce an already solid partnership, initiating a new phase that will strengthen CTT’s commitment to connect people and companies with total delivery”.

To Jorge Veloso, ANAFRE’s Chairman of Board, this agreement “represents a very important step towards the regularization of the relations with CTT, for the recognition of the essential role played by parishes to their populations. The revision of the conditions of the previous Protocol, dated back to 2003, is a new step forward in the relationship among institutions and will lead to the provision of a service with more quality to our fellow citizens. Our delivery was and will always be total.”

The mission, the public service and the proximity that are part of both institutions, CTT and Parish Councils, is therefore reinforced by this historic agreement that will enable the provision of more and better services to citizens and companies.