Dhaka: Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Sunday called for strengthening the cooperative movement in Bangladesh saying that cooperatives can play a big role in the country’s development.

‘If the cooperatives movement can be carried out properly then the development of the country will be faster... I believe that,’ she said, reports the UNB.

The Prime Minister was addressing a function marking the 47th National Cooperative Day and distribution of the National Cooperative Award 2016 and 2017 at Bangabandhu International Conference Centre (BICC).

Sheikh Hasina put emphasis on providing trainings to the youth to build them as good human resources and this is how the curse of unemployment could be removed from the country.

The Prime Minister said, ‘Cooperative is a philosophy, It’s a tested strategy for socio-economic development. In the cooperative-based development process, discrimination decreases as it ensures balanced and sustainable development.’

‘Cooperative was the tool to fulfill the dream of the Father of the Nation to build ‘Sonar Bangla’. He wanted to expand cooperative-based production and distribution management in all sectors, including agriculture and land management, industrial initiatives and agricultural credit,’ she said.

The Prime Minister said Bangabandhu had incorporated the cooperatives as the second sector of ownership in Article 13 of the Constitution, and initiated agricultural, fisheries and weavers’ cooperatives and industrial cooperative societies with the poor people of their respective classes for their socio-economic development.

‘Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib founded the Milk Vita -a national-level leading cooperative of Bangladesh,’ she said.

Hasina said the government has been working to improve the socio-economic condition of the people of this country upholding the dream and ideology of Bangabandhu. ‘In our development process, we’re giving utmost importance to rural development and cooperatives,’ she said.

She also laid emphasis on the expansion of the cooperatives movement for the optimum utilisation of the land in food production.

The Prime Minister said the government will extend all-out cooperation to the private sector for livestock development and milk production.

LGRD and Cooperatives Minister Khandakar Mosharraf Hossain, and State Minister for LGRD and Cooperatives Moshiur Rahman Ranga attended the function as special guests.

The day is being observed in the country with the theme ‘Let’s build cooperative-based society, ensure sustainable development’.

Earlier, the Prime Minister distributed National Cooperatives Award- 2016 and 2017 among the recipients for their contributions to the cooperatives sector.