Mr. Vo Kim Cu, Chairman of Vietnam Cooperative Alliance (VCA) and Mr. Balu Iyer, Regional Director, ICA-AP signed the MoU for the 10th Ministers Conference at a press conference in Hanoi on July 19. The conference was attended by members from the diplomatic community, national and international development agencies, and government officials. The proposed theme for the conference to be held from April 18-21, 2017 is: "VISIONING AHEAD TO 2020: Creating Stronger Partnerships between Governments and Co-operative Stakeholders." Mr. Cu highlighted the significance of the upcoming conference to the ICA members in the context of extensive regional and global integration. He added the conference also presents opportunities for Vietnam to advertise the beauty of the people and landscapes of Vietnam while strengthening the friendship with international nations and contributing to the sustainable development of cooperatives and economic cooperation. Mr. Iyer spoke about the intensive Regional Consultations among co-operative leaders, high-ranking government officials, and organizations involved with co-operatives held in Jakarta for the ASEAN ++ Region (October, 2015), Kathmandu for the SAARC ++ Region (December, 2015) and in Kuwait (January 2016) by the Council of Ministers of Labor and Council of Ministers of Social Affairs in GCC States.
The uniting voice from the Regional Consultations was that the success of co-operatives relies altogether on healthy member-based cooperatives, as well as good governance, but expansion and further advancement must be grounded in communities and further supported by strong and strategic partnerships with respective governments and international and national organizations in the Asia Pacific Region. Partnership is considered crucial in this day and age. To bring about sustained economic democracy, co-operatives must work in partnership with key stakeholders. This is especially true at a time when inequality is deepening in the region despite the gains created by the capitalist system. Co-operatives offer an alternative model to the capitalist system as sustainable enterprises, which values are to be shared and recognized by their multiple stakeholders.
