The first ever National Cooperatives Week will take off tomorrow 23 June at BMICH, Colombo-with many Provincial Coop Ministers eagerly joining to map the future of this crucial sector.
โOur coop sector is much more important than any of us understandโ stressed Minister of Industry and Commerce Rishad Bathiudeen addressing his top officials on 22 June at the Ministry.
Minister Bathiudeen was discussing the launch of first national Cooperatives Week on 23 June and commemoration of International Cooperatives Day on 02 July, with his officials at the Ministry.
โOur coop sector is much more important than any of us understand. Sri Lankaโs agricultural economic base of the past helped the movement to take offโ said Minister Bathiudeen, and added: โEven in todayโs market economy, its presence in the rural sector is strong. More than 50% of non-multi-purpose cooperative purchases in Sri Lanka are purchases from farmer and livestock sectors, at Rs 3100 million! These are the reasons why I presented a Cabinet Paper on 14 June to celebrate the International Cooperative Day falling next July 02โ.
The International Day of the Cooperative movement is being commemorated by the United Nations since 1975. The International Co-operative Day falls on 02nd of July this year and the proposal made Minister Bathiudeen to declare a Co-operative Week from 25th June 2016 to 01st July and to commemorate the Cooperative Day on 02 July at the Nelum Pokuna Theatre, Colombo with co-operators, was approved by the Cabinet of Ministers on 14 June.
The Cooperative movement of Sri Lanka was born in a virtually unknown Central Province village called Menikhinna with โMenikhinna Credit Societyโ-way back in 1904!
Leader of All Ceylon Makkal Congress