HEADLINE NEWS THE RISING NEPAL (DAILY)

Govt for independent, self-motivated cooperatives: PM

By A Staff Reporter

Kathmandu, Apr. 3 : The sixth cooperatives ministers conference for Asia Pacific began today with pledges to make joint efforts to battle poverty and to reduce the adverse impact of liberalisation in the region.

Addressing the inaugural session of the five-day seminar, Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba said the government was ready to provide a conducive atmosphere for the cooperative organisations and to help them establish themselves as self-motivated and independent institutions.

Prime Minister Deuba said the cooperative movement was important in overcoming major obstacles the countries in the region are facing.

Cooperatives are the best means for bringing about positive changes in societies with inadequate economic and institutional support systems, Prime Minister Deuba noted. "Our main concern should be to enhance the movement’s capacity to address the rapidly unfolding and urgent needs of our people in the new and changed atmosphere," said Prime Minister Deuba.

"The majority of the people in our region are poor and living in poverty. It is time to root out poverty, not only for the improvement of the rural masses, but also for the promotion of peace and stability," Premier Deuba said. He added that since lack of resources is the main cause for under-development, the cooperatives are crucial in generating strengths from weaknesses.

Minister for Agriculture and Cooperatives Mahesh Acharya noted that the cooperatives have improved, and are continuing to improve, the quality of life of millions of people in our region.

In many countries, cooperatives have contributed to socio-economic changes and prosperity, said Minister Acharya. "We are marching ahead, generating more resource strengths in the form of collective wisdom and efforts based on the concept of group dynamism."

Minister Acharya said he hoped the conference would help share ideas and experiences.

Deepak Prakash Baskota, executive chairman of the National Cooperative Federation (NCF) said he believed the cooperative movement in the country should be supported with greater initiative.

President of the International Cooperative Association (ICA) Ivanov Barberini stressed the need to minimise contradiction. "Economy and solidarity should be strengthened in the context of globalisation and rapid changes."

The cooperatives can play an important role in overcoming economic and social crises everywhere and specifically in helping developing countries achieve their economic, social and political aims, Barberini noted.

Shil Kwan Lee, regional director of ICA- ROAP said concerted efforts were necessary to consolidate the cooperative movement in the region.

Acting Secretary at the Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives Surendra Kumar Shrestha said he hoped the cooperatives would help reduce poverty in the region.

Fiscal legislation, tax laws, development of cooperatives and other issues will be discussed during the sixth cooperative ministerial conference. The role of agriculture cooperatives for agriculture, impact of globalisation, perspectives for cooperative banks, cooperative law and policy will be covered during the five-day ministerial conference.

Nepal has been continuously participating in the ministerial conference since 1992. Following the Beijing Declaration, Nepal is hosting the sixth cooperative ministers conference of ICA Asia and the Pacific region.

The cooperative movement, initiated by the 28 pioneers in 1844, has now more than 800 million members in 102 countries in the world through their 256 national cooperative organisations.

158 participants from 28 countries attend the ongoing sixth ministers conference. The previous Ministers Conferences took place in Sydney in 1990, Jakarta in 1992, Colombo in 1994, Chaing Mai in 1997 and Beijing in 1999.

The cooperative principles propounded by the Rochedle Pioneers on the basis of their practical experiences spread throughout the European countries in mid-19th century. The international Cooperative Congress held in 1895 in London established the International Cooperative Alliance.

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