Kuala Lumpur: The ASEAN Co-operative Organisation (ACO) will continue consolidating business networks among co-operatives within ASEAN countries to position them as vital parts of the third sector and contributors to economic growth. Its president, Datuk Seri Dr Abdul Fattah Abdullah, emphasized the importance of co-operatives in the socio-economic development of ASEAN countries, highlighting their contribution of 10 percent, or USD 300 billion, to the region’s GDP through 300,000 co-operatives with 65.7 million members.
According to BERNAMA News Agency, Abdul Fattah expressed confidence in the Malaysian government’s leadership in ASEAN to advocate for the recognition and strengthening of co-operatives’ roles. He shared these insights after chairing the ACO Annual General Meeting and Sectoral Meeting 2025, attended by 10 co-operative leaders from ASEAN member states. The meeting was held in conjunction with the ASEAN Co-operative Dialogue (ACD) 2025, hosted by Angkatan Koperasi Kebangsaan Malaysia Bhd (ANGKASA) with support from the Ministry of Entrepreneur Development and Cooperatives.
The ACD 2025 event aims to bring together major co-operative bodies from across the ASEAN region to enhance cooperation. As part of the event, two memoranda of understanding (MoUs) were signed to strengthen bilateral cooperation in education and cooperative business development. Abdul Fattah, who also serves as the president of ANGKASA, highlighted the MoU between Koperasi Kakitangan Amanah Ikhtiar Malaysia Berhad (KKAIMB) and the Indonesian Co-operative Council (DEKOPIN), focusing on business expansion in the tourism sector.
The collaboration between KKAIMB and DEKOPIN aims to leverage networks for investment and tourism market opportunities in Indonesia, showcasing the economic benefits of strong ties between Malaysian and Indonesian co-operatives. Additionally, another MoU between ACO and the Association of Indonesian Accounting Lecturers (ADAI) was signed to facilitate collaboration in education and training in co-operative accounting.