Asia-Pacific Cooperative Trade Forum - Report and Recommendations, Bangkok.2003

Abstract

In Pursuance of one of its Key Result Areas of promotion of International Cooperative Trade Network (ICTN), ICA has taken initiative to establish an appropriate forum to provide opportunities to business cooperatives to share their experience and engage regularly in cooperative to cooperative business. Organization of international cooperative trade fair and trade forum on regular intervals sound practical propositions in this regard. The Asia-Pacific Cooperative Trade Forum was, therefore, organized on November 13-14, 2003 in Bangkok, Thailand, in collaboration with Co-operative League of Thailand. More than 154 participants from 14 countries participated in the Forum. With a view to provide proper framework for deliberations at the Cooperative Trade Forum, ICA ROAP undertook two Cooperative Trade studies - one in Far-East countries (China, Japan and Korea), and other in South Asia (India and Sri Lanka) in collaboration with National Agricultural Cooperative Federation (NACF) of Korea and National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation of India (NAFED) respectively. The Study Reports formed the basis of deliberations at Cooperative Trade Forum.