Mauritius on co-op revival, opens college, signs MoU with NCUI

National Cooperative Union of India and Mauritius Cooperative Alliance Limited have signed an MoU to strengthen the contact between two nations in the field of cooperative values and principles on national and international levels.

N Satyanarayan, Chief Executive signed the MoU on behalf of NCUI as its President Chandra Pal Singh Yadav being member of Upper House could not go to Mauritius due to the ongoing monsoon session. Satyanarayan was, however, accompanied by about half a dozen cooperators including Dileep Sanghani and K Shivadasan Nair.

The visit of the Indian team also coincided with the inauguration of the National Cooperative College (NCC), a first-of-its-kind in Mauritius that will provide training and educational programs with a view to giving a professional edge to the cooperative sector.

The Mauritian Prime Minister Mr Pravind Kumar Jugnauth inaugurated the college in the presence of several ministers. National Cooperative College will offer courses to cooperative societies as well as promote an entrepreneurial attitude for the successful evolution of the sector, quotes govt sources.

 The Government is investing massively to ensure both existing and aspiring entrepreneurs benefit from necessary tools and resources for the development of competencies in the field of cooperatives.

PM Jugnauth pointed out that the cooperative movement in Mauritius that earlier centered on the sugarcane industry has today evolved into a diversified sector including livestock, credit unions, transportation, handicraft, finance, agriculture and fisheries ,among others.

He reiterated the commitment of the Government to reinforce cooperatives and encourage them to further harness their enormous potential while ensuring the protection of the environment. The Prime Minister underlined that around Rs 1 billion has been earmarked for the training of some 12, 000 unemployed people under various programs.

The MoU between NCUI and Mauritius Co-op bodies talks of close coordination between the cooperatives of the two countries in ICA, encouraging bilateral cooperative relations between co-ops of the two countries, sharing of the best co-op practices, visits of delegations of the two countries , among others.

Besides participating in the inauguration of the Co-op College, the Indian team also visited Bio Fertilizer Factory at Mer Rougeoperated and Mauritius Agricultural Marketing Cooperative Society at Belle Mare.