India to Host International Cooperative Alliance Assembly in Nov

New Delhi, Sep 9 (PTI) India will host for the first time the general assembly of International Cooperative Alliance along with a global conference in November this year, a move aimed at strengthening the cooperative movement in the country.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been requested to inaugurate the event, which is scheduled to be held in the national capital during November 25-30. Around 1,500 distinguished guests from over 100 countries will participate.

International Cooperative Alliance (ICA) is the voice for cooperatives worldwide. It is a non-profit international association established in 1895 to advance the cooperative social enterprise model.

Fertiliser cooperative IFFCO has taken the initiative to host the ICA General Assembly and Global Cooperative Conference.

IFFCO MD U S Awasthi said the conference will be used to showcase Indian Cooperatives' products and services in the 'Haat' setup with the theme of Indian Village.

He said this event will be totally "carbon neutral". To compensate for the possible carbon emissions, he said 10,000 Peepal (Ficus Religiosa) saplings will be planted across the country.

Awasthi also informed that only vegetarian meals will be served during the 6-day event and there will be no liquor served.

Global Cooperative Conference in India will also mark the official launch of the UN International Year of Cooperatives - 2025.

Union Cooperation Minister Amit Shah will attend the event on November 25, 2024. He will chair the inaugural session of the Global Cooperative Conference as the chief guest. A commemorative stamp on International Year of Cooperatives - 2025 will also be launched at the event.

In a press conference, ICA Director General Jeroen Douglas said India was one of the co-founders of this 130-year-old association. The ICA was formed in 1895.

He said India has around 8 lakh cooperative societies out of 30 lakh globally and highlighted that the co-operative sector in India has played a major role in the growth of agriculture and allied sectors.

Douglas said the theme of the event will be 'Cooperatives Build Prosperity of All'.

Prime Minister of Bhutan, President of United Nations Economic Council (UN ECOSOC), President of ICA, UN Representatives, ICA Members, and luminaries from the Indian Cooperative Movement will be among the 1,500 distinguished guests representing over 100 countries who are expected to participate.

Ashish Kumar Bhutani, Secretary of the Ministry of Cooperation, said the theme of the event 'Cooperatives Build Prosperity for All' is in line with the Government of India's slogan of 'Sahkar se Samriddhi' (Prosperity through Cooperation).

With the formation of separate Ministry of Cooperation, he said the Indian cooperative sector has achieved new milestones achieving greater contribution to the National GDP by launching 54 initiatives for the growth and development of the cooperative movement.

Bhutani stressed the need to increase usage of technology in the cooperative sector and said the government has launched a programme to computerise PACS (Primary Agricultural Credit Societies).