Workshop on Cooperative Financial Services and Rural Development
Mr. Li Chunsheng, President of ICA Asia-Pacific and Vice President of ACFSMC addressing at workshop on Cooperative Financial Services and Rural Development.
A three-day workshop, from July 27 to 29, on Cooperative Financial Services and Rural Development was held in Dali, China. 23 participants from India, Malaysia, Maldives, Mongolia, Myanmar, Nepal, Philippines, Sri Lanka and Vietnam attended the workshop supported by the All-China Federation of Supply and Marketing Cooperatives (ACFSMC). Financial services are the bedrock of cooperatives and in many countries, cooperatives had their start by meeting the credit needs of people. At the core of any business is the need to manage finances in an environment that is uncertain and unpredictable. With rapid advancement of technology and new forms of payments and players, the workshop looked at how cooperatives could cope and manages finances. Mr. Li Chunsheng, Vice President ACFSC and President ICA-AP, in his opening remarks stressed on the importance of finance and called for the need to develop innovative delivery systems and transparent mechanisms. The opening ceremony was attended by Mr. Yang Jian, Governor of Dali Autonomous Prefecture, Mr. Li Lingbo, President of Yunan Cooperatives and Mr. Adolfo Ibañez, Chair, NATCCO, Philippines. The resource persons for the two days included, Mr. Huseyin Polyait (Turkey), Dr. Robby Tulus (Canada), Mr. Thierry Weishaupt (France), Mr. Lee Wook (Korea) and Mr. Shen Zato (China). ICA-AP regularly organizes training, workshops and seminars that help development of cooperatives in the region. These are in terms of technical and human resources resources development. This is possible because, in most cases, the larger and more developed cooperatives in our region step up. The support is not just the finances they provide; it is the genuine interest to see the development of cooperatives. This is a true reflection of Principle 6 – cooperation among cooperatives.
