Batticaloa to host 96th Int’l Coop Day

• First Int’l Coop Day celebrations to be held in East
• ‘5,000 participants from the province’: Bathiudeen

 For the first time, International Cooperative Day celebrations in Sri Lanka are to be held in the Eastern Province. 

The 96th international day of celebrations will be followed by a seven-day long, island-wide special cooperative activities.  

“Many new developments are taking place in Sri Lankan cooperatives - it is time we meet regional cooperative members in their own locations,” said Industry and Commerce Minister Rishad Bathiudeen with whom national cooperative policymaking is vested. 

Minister Bathiudeen was addressing the special meeting held for arrangements on International Co-operative Day 2018 which falls on 7 July. Joining the occasion were Ministry of Industry and Commerce Secretary K.D.N. Ranjith Asoka, Co-operative Development Commissioner S.L. Naseer and Eastern Province Governor Rohitha Bogollagama.

“Last year’s 95th international cooperatives day was successfully held in Kurunegala with President Maithripala Sirisena’s participation. The theme for this year is ‘Sustainable Consumption and Production’ which aims at creating an opportunity for cooperatives to show how they run successful businesses while respecting the natural environment and the resources it offers,” said Minister Bathiudeen. 

He added: “We look forward to a strong participation – 5,000 from the Eastern Province alone. I thank Eastern Province Governor Rohitha Bogollagama for facilitating us in this province in our first provincial effort. What is important at this year’s event is that it will not be a single-day event; there will be island-wide activities for seven days after the main event.”

Accordingly, Sri Lankan celebrations in parallel with the 96th International Co-operative Day 2018 will be held at Weber Stadium, Batticaloa on 7 July.

“Cooperatives lead global entrepreneur development and SME growth. My family members have had a close connection with the cooperative movement. I commend Minister Bathiudeen for taking International Day to the East for the first time. Let us join together to modernise the Lankan cooperative sector.”

At present there are almost 14,500 cooperatives in various productions, services, SMEs, women’s development, rural banking, insurance and farming sectors active in Sri Lanka. These coops employ 46,000 people. Sri Lankan cooperatives’ asset base stands at a huge $ 1.8 billion while another $ 1 billion is in the sector’s savings system.