CA/IFFCO/CLT

INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON “ENHANCED ROLE OF COOPERATIVES IN THE RECOVERY FROM ECONOMIC CRISIS’

Bangkok [Thailand], July 2-4, 2009


An International Conference on “Enhanced Role of Cooperatives in the Recovery from Economic Crisis’ was held at Baiyoke Sky Hotel, Bangkok [Thailand] from 2nd to 4th July, 2009, under the auspices of ICA Asia-Pacific Agriculture Committee. Seventy-five [75] participants from16 countries, namely, China, Fiji, India, Indonesia, Kazakhstan, Republic of Korea, Malaysia, Mongolia, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan, Philippines, Sri Lanka, Tajikistan, Thailand and Vietnam attended the Conference.

The objective of the Conference was to understand the impact of economic recession on cooperatives and find the mix of interventions to revitalize the local and global economy through cooperatives.

The basis of conferencing was subject-specific presentations made by experts and case studies of successful cooperative models that have transformed the core cooperative values into practice.

Eminent speakers to the conference were: Mr. Iain Macdonald, Director-General, International Cooperative Alliance [ICA], Mr. Yong Duck Kim, Executive Vice President, National Agricultural Cooperative Federation [NACF], , Dr. Gopal N. Saxena, Director [Cooperative Development], Indian Farmers’ Fertiliser Cooperative Ltd. [IFFCO], A representative from the Cooperative College of Malaysia, Dr. G. Vajralingam, Registrar, Cooperative Societies, Punjab [India], Mr. H. Amano, Manager, International Department, Japanese Consumers’ Cooperative Union [JCCU], Mr. Zulkifli bin Mohammed, Chief Executive, Singapore National Cooperative Federation, Mr. Attasit Surakul of Bank for Agriculture and Agricultural Cooperatives [BAAC], Mr. Ranjith Hettiarachchi of ACCU, Mr. Bruno Roelants, Secretary-General of ICA-CICOPA, Brussels [Belgium], and Ms. Supatra Thanasniwat, Deputy Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives of Thailand.

The Conference was inaugurated by Mr. S.K. Jakhar, Chairman, IFFCO. Inaugurating the Conference, Mr. Jakhar said: “I would like to congratulate the organizers of this event who have brought together experienced and committed minds of great cooperative functionaries and policy makers in this vibrant capital of Thailand. The world, as we all know, is in the midst of an unprecedented financial crisis affecting all economies and culture. Cooperatives, in the era of globalization and economic down turn, ought to broaden their scope by venturing in non-conventional sectors together with the conventional ones so that the confidence could be built to handle both poverty and prosperity. Cooperatives are undoubtedly the most legitimate socially responsible institutions in imbibing values of good and effective corporate governance in multiple spheres of economy”. He wished the conference a great success.

The Conference ended with a set of recommendations being documented separately.

The participants of the Conference also attended the 87th ICA International Cooperative Day & 15th U.N. Day of Cooperatives at the premises of the Cooperative League of Thailand on 4th July, 2009. The Opening and Key Note Speech was delivered by the Deputy Prime Minister of Thailand. The Director-General, ICA, read the UN message on this occasion and the Deputy Regional Director, ICA AP, read out the gist of recommendations of the Conference.

The participants paid visits to the various stalls of Exhibition and Cooperative Fair especially organized to mark the occasion in the premises of the CLT.