BD PM supports spread of cooperative movement

Terming cooperatives as Bangladesh's largest organization, Bangladesh�s Prime Minister Khaleda Zia said this movement for self-reliance can be a strong tool for poverty reduction, improving people's fortune and bringing socio-economic prosperity, reports UNB.
"Let the cooperative movement be the key support to face challenges of hunger, poverty and development. Let cooperatives be the successful tool in building a happy, prosperous and self-reliant Bangladesh," the PM told a function inaugurating the newly constructed Cooperative Bhaban at Agargaon in the city.
Khaleda said the focal point of all activities of her government is to improve the lot of countrymen, socio-economic prosperity and poverty alleviation--and the present government is, therefore, committed to achieving UN Millennium Development Goals.
She said they have adopted poverty reduction strategy in line with a roadmap of development and expressed the hope that the cooperative department would take necessary programmes and projects consistent with government's various initiatives and development planning.
The PM firmly believes that it is possible to cut poverty by half by the year 2015 if the big organization of the cooperatives can utilize its capacity properly, matching with the different programmes of the government.
"The cooperative movement will have to spread extensively," she told the cooperators and their custodians.
Earlier Prime Minister Khaleda formally inaugurated the four-storied new cooperative Bhaban, designed for a 10-storied building. Its estimated cost is Tk 447.30 million.
Listing her government's steps, projects and programmes to intensify cooperative activities and movement, Khaleda said in last four years Tk 150 million loan has been given to rural poor males and females to generate self-employment.
The PM said training programme for evolving leadership and building skilled human resources through the cooperatives has been strengthened and already 7,000 cooperators have been imparted vocation-specific training.