RAWALPINDI, July 6: The International Day of Co-operatives is being observed on Saturday with “Co-operative values and principles for corporate social responsibility” as its theme which highlights the fact that cooperatives are by their very nature enterprises that balance or integrate economic, environment and social imperatives.

Governments recognize that the cooperative movement is highly democratic, locally autonomous but internationally integrated, and a form of organization of associations and enterprises whereby citizens themselves rely on self-help and their own responsibility to meet goals that include not only economic but social and environmental objectives, such as overcoming poverty, securing productive employment and encouraging social integration.Consequently, governments seek to support the cooperative movement and to work closely with it to develop an effective partnership to achieve their respective goals.

Policies setting out the objectives and means of support and collaboration are valuable instruments for ensuring that the potential of cooperatives for meeting the individual goals of citizens who are members, and through this the aspirations of the wider societies of which they are a part, is realized.

Values common to many co-operatives include self-help, self- responsibility, equity, equality and solidarity. They are put into practice through principles, such as autonomy and independence, voluntary and open membership, democratic member control, economic participation of members, education, learning opportunities and information for members and employees, accountable and transparent management, co-operation with other co-operatives, networking, and an explicit concern for their community.

In Pakistan, microfinance has been recognised as an important instrument for poverty reduction. Realizing the need and importance of micro-finance, as a tool of poverty reduction and social mobilization, the government has accelerated its efforts to establish strong foundations of micro-finance in formal sector and extended considerable support to the informal sector (NGOs) as well. In order to promote the micro-finance in formal sector, the most significant step taken by the government was the launching of Microfinance Sector Development Programme (MSDP) a few years ago.

The main objective of this programme was to broaden and increase the pace for the development of the sector to provide financial services to the poor on sustainable basis.