The forum was jointly organised by the Vietnam Co-operative Alliance, the International Co-operative Alliance Asia-Pacific (ICA-AP) and the Institute of Organic Agricultural Economics.
The event saw the presence of Deputy Prime Minister Vuong Dinh Hue, Minister of Planning and Investment Nguyen Chi Dung, and more than 300 delegates and 100 co-operative organistions from 33 countries and territories in the Asia Pacific region.
At the forum, participants focused discussions on the development trend and impacts on the cooperative sector in the 21st century while identifying legal issues and policies affecting co-operatives in the implementation of sustainable development goals and sharing experiences of Asia Pacific countries in creating a favourable environment and developing cooperative ecosystems.
Delegates also discussed government policies and operations of co-operative sector to address current economic and social issues and proposing solutions,action plans, and specific roadmap at the national and Asia - Pacific levels in the future.
Addressing the forum, Deputy PM Hue emphasised that the Vietnam’s host of the forum demonstrated the recognition of the international community of the efforts of Vietnam. He noted that the Government and ministries are making great efforts, but the policies and legal framework on land, credit, taxes, human training, and others are showing inadequacies.
The number of profit-making cooperatives has increased rapidly, but they only account for about 50% of the total number of co-operatives (the rate was only 10% three years ago), Hue added.
The Government official suggested that, after the forum, the Vietnam Co-operative Alliance collect proposals and make submissions to the Government to improve the legal framework on cooperatives, strengthen the role of state management, and boost the role of the Vietnam Co-operative Alliance.
The forum will last until the end of April 18.
Earlier, Deputy PM Vuong Dinh Hue attended a ribbon cutting ceremony for a co-operative trade promotion fair at the Hoa Lu Sports Centre, District 1, with a scale of over 350 booths and the participation of domestic and international cooperatives from Japan, Taiwan (China), Thailand, Malaysia, the Philippines, and others.
