Malaysian Coop Minister inaugurates ICA Conference

Inaugurating the Global Conference of ICA on Tuesday Malaysian Cooperative Minister Hamzah Bin Zainudin warmly welcomed the guests saying Malaysia felt honored that it was hosting the 2017 edition of the Global Conference and General Assembly of the International Co-operative Alliance.

Hundreds of Co-operators and delegates have arrived from all parts of the world representing 301 co-ops of 105 countries in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. More than a dozen meetings of different committees are taking place as the conference schedule is packed.

The Malaysian Cooperative Minister said his country’s cooperators desire to actively promote global economic growth through cooperatives. The coop minister added ICA signifies the strength and power of economies of scale to global industries as a third force of the global economy.

“Capacity building of co-operators as knowledge workers will be a pillar for the future success of the co-operative sector. The speed of technological growth, global economic volatility and competitive demands are a reality for new generation of co-operators”, the minister said.

He also said the Co-operatives are poised to contribute at least 10 per cent to Malaysia’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) via wholesale trade and retail, housing, tourism, services, farming, transportation, agriculture and agro-based industries. The government is actively propagating and allocating tangible resources for the purpose boosting the competitiveness of the co-operative sector through the National Cooperatives Policy 2011-2020 and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals

Scores of Indian delegates who participated in the inauguration ceremony sent photographs of the event to us. Ovr Ramachandran, an IFFCO delegate wrote on FB “With Chanderpal Singh ,MP and chairman national cooperative union of India and our own Nakai Ji, Chairman IFFCO at the opening ceremony of the global coop conference 2017, Sunway hotel Malaysia.”

Sunil Singh, Biscomaun Chairman who is also participating in the General Assembly from Kribhco sent the detailed information about the ICA A-P meeting and the video footage of the inauguration ceremony.