Addressing the national workshop organised by the National Cooperative Federation of Nepal Limited (NCFL) here today, he said the Constitution of Nepal envisages boosting the national economy through the participation and independent development of the public, private and cooperative sector.
“The cooperatives, which have become central to economic, social, cultural and political transformation, have helped in eliminating illegal lending and transactions as ‘sutkhari’ and ‘dhikuti’,” he said.
The Finance Minister opined that the cooperatives could be the backbone for sustainable development by mobilizing and investing small capital.
Defence Minister Bal Krishna Khand suggested giving the responsibility of running the local bodies to the cooperatives managers as according to him they have managerial acumen, commitment and financial deftness.
Stating that cooperatives have a leading role to play for promoting peace, prosperity and development of villages, he said the cooperatives were important in terms of activating the economy, women empowerment and development of leadership skills.
Former Minister Ganesh Shaha described the cooperatives as the foundation for the country’s development.
NCFL Chairman Keshav Badal, talking about the objective of the workshop, said the workshop has been organised aimed at imparting knowledge regarding the kind of role the Nepal’s cooperatives need to play in the realization of the SDGs.
Three hundred persons from various cooperatives across the country are participating in the workshop.
Former Governor of Nepal Rastra Bank Dr Yub Raj Khatiwada, experts on cooperatives affairs Suresh Pradhan, Dr Raju Adhikari, Ramesh Badal and Deepak Banskota, and lawmaker Omdevi Malla, among others will present papers in the workshop.

Kathmandu : Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Finance, Krishna Bhadur Mahara says the country’s development would pick pace through the combined efforts of the government, cooperatives and the private sector.