First National Coop Week kicks off today

The first-ever National Cooperatives Week will take off today at BMICH, Colombo, with many provincial coop ministers eagerly joining to map the future of this crucial sector.

“Our coop sector is much more important than any of us understand,” stressed Minister of Industry and Commerce Rishad Bathiudeen addressing his top officials yesterday at the Ministry.

Bathiudeen was discussing the launch of the first National Cooperatives Week on 23 June and commemoration of International Cooperatives Day on 2 July, with his officials at the Ministry.

“Sri Lanka’s agricultural economic base of the past helped the movement to take off,” said Bathiudeen, and added: “Even in today’s 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. 3,100 million! These are the reasons why I presented a Cabinet Paper on 14 June to celebrate International Cooperative Day falling next 2 July.”

The International Day of the Cooperative movement has been commemorated by the United Nations since 1975. The International Co-operative Day falls on 2 July this year and the proposal made Minister Bathiudeen to declare a Co-operative Week from 25 June to 1 July and to commemorate Cooperative Day on 2 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 ‘Menikhinna Credit Society’ way back in 1904.