ILO participates in the 11th Asia Pacific Cooperative Ministers’ Conference hosted by the ICA-AP and Jordan

Since 1990, the Asia-Pacific Cooperative Ministers' Conference (APCMC) has provided a platform for cooperative movements and governments to discuss current and emerging issues and set a common agenda towards the establishment of new forms of cooperation between them. The APCMC helps to create a sustained and enabling policy and regulatory environment that is conducive to cooperative development. 

The APMPC’s 11th edition focused on partnerships between governments and cooperative movements for resilience, sustainable development and inclusive growth in Asia Pacific, the Middle East, and North Africa. It was co-hosted by the International Cooperative Alliance-Asia Pacific Region (ICA-AP) and the Jordan Cooperative Corporation (JCC) under the patronage of the Ministry of Agriculture of Jordan. The Conference that took place from 28 to 30 April, at the Dead Sea in Jordan, aimed at analysing existing partnerships between governments and cooperatives in the region; highlighting the benefits of such collaboration including improved access to resources, enhanced regulatory frameworks, and increased social inclusion. The conference also highlighted key recommendations for policymakers and cooperative stakeholders to strengthen partnerships for sustainable and inclusive development. 

In her presentation at the conference, Ms. Simel Esim, Head of ILO COOP/SSE Unit spoke about the role of cooperatives in advancing Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). “In a context where only 15 percent of SDG targets are on track and risks of leaving people behind increase, cooperatives with their people-centred and values-driven model, are uniquely equipped to address these challenges.” Ms. Esim said. She highlighted that, as the only UN agency with a specialised unit for cooperative, social and solidarity economy the ILO has a Recommendation 193 on the Promotion of Cooperatives (2002) and a Resolution on Decent Work and Social and Solidarity Economy (2022) that provide legal, policy, research, and statistical guidance for creating a conductive environment for cooperatives and the wider social and solidarity economy. 

Ms. Esim provided highlights from relevant ILO initiatives including: 

• Research to inform and create policy dialogue on the contributions of the social and solidarity economy to decent work and sustainable development in Asia and the Pacific region in Cambodia, Kyrgyzstan, Mongolia, Thailand and Vietnam; 
• Pilot initiative to ensure statistics on cooperatives are reliable, coherent, and internationally comparable towards implementing the international Guidelines concerning Statistics of Cooperatives in Costa Rica, Italy, Republic of Korea, Tanzania and Türkiye; and 
• Development of cooperative policy, capacity development and emergency response programmes in Jordan, Lebanon and the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPT) in Arab States. 

Ms. Esim also mentioned several international events as pivotal opportunities for advancing decent work and sustainable development in and through cooperatives. The Global Accelerator on Jobs and Social Protection for Just Transitions and the Global Coalition for Social Justice are unique mechanisms to foster cooperative development and transition to resilient, inclusive, and sustainable economies, she noted. Additionally, the UN Summit of the Future in September 2024, the 2025 International Year of Cooperatives, Conference on Financing for Development and the Second World Summit for Social Development converge to provide an opportunity to “promote cooperatives as a priority on the global agenda.” She added that “By leveraging these opportunities, we can enhance cooperation among international stakeholders and foster environments that facilitate the growth and sustainability of cooperatives.”  

Throughout the conference, the ILO delegation consisting of staff members from the COOP/SSE Unit, PROSPECTS Jordan and ILO Jerusalem engaged in a series of high-level meetings with representatives from government bodies and cooperative support institutions. Meetings were held with senior officials from the Ministry of Labour of Japan, the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Development of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, JCC, the Ministry of Agriculture of Lebanon, the Cooperative Works Agency, and the General Cooperative Union in the OPT, the International Cooperative Alliance, and the Office du Development de la Cooperation (ODCO) of Morocco. These meetings aimed to discuss and share insights on ILO cooperative development programmes in the Arab States and Asia Pacific regions, build synergies and partnerships, and explore innovative ideas for future efforts and initiatives on cooperative and SSE development. 

Following the conference and the high-level meetings, the ILO COOP/SSE Unit, in collaboration with the ILO field offices, ILO Constituents and partner organizations in the Arab region, is committed to lead initiatives aimed at advancing cooperative development. These efforts will prioritize fostering cooperative-to-cooperative linkages and trade, strengthening cooperative engagement in crisis response such as in the OPT and continuing advocacy and capacity development efforts at the policy level to enhance conducive environments for cooperative growth.