Co-operatives of the Americas signed an agreement with the Ministry of Production of Peru to help grow and consolidate the country’s co-operative sector. On 15 September Peru’s Minister of Production, Piero Ghezzi and Manuel Mariño, regional director of Co-operatives of the Americas, signed a document that sets out a plan to establish a relationship of co-operation to promote the co-operative enterprise model.
The agreement is the result of a series of meetings between representatives of the two bodies. The collaboration is aimed at contributing to social, economic and financial inclusion and promoting youth involvement and gender equality.
Co-operatives of the Americas will also work with the ministry on educational programmes by disseminating good practices and sharing their expertise for a better administration of co-operatives, taking into account the government’s policies and priorities.
The document sets out a working plan for the two organisations to carry out common projects. As part of the agreement, Co-operatives of the Americas will share with the ministry the mechanisms, instruments and tools developed by the organisation and that can be applied to the co-operative enterprise model.
The two organisations, which had run different events together in the past will facilitate exchange between the staff of Co-operatives of the Americas in charge of promoting the sector and ministry officials.
“The idea of the co-operation agreement is joining the efforts of both organisations to promote the co-operative enterprise model that contributed to social, economic and financial inclusion of the people with fewer resources. Another objective is to spread good practices of business management that exist at national, regional and international level. The next step is to continue to elaborate a yearly working plan defining the activities that will take place and the results expected. For the co-operative sector in Peru it is extremely important that an international organisation like the Alliance through its Americas office has signed an agreement with the Ministry responsible for the co-operative sector, given that from here a direct relationship between the sector and the Ministry could be born,” explained Manuel Mariño, regional director of Co-operatives of the Americas.
Photo: Piero Ghezzi Solís, Minister of Production of Peru