Prince Saud Bin Salman pledges to strengthen Saudi cooperative sector

RIYADH — Prince Saud Bin Salman Bin Abdulaziz, the Honorary President of the Saudi Cooperative Societies, said in a press statement recently that “the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia strongly supports the cooperative sector. We seek to strengthen the role of this sector to serve the national economy.” After the inauguration, the prince said the Saudi Cooperative Societies experience a quantum leap in the coming days, pledging to further strengthen the role of the cooperative sector. Prince Saud Bin Salman said “it is well known internationally that the cooperative sector comes third after the public and private sectors, and with God's help we will work with the support of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman Bin Abdulaziz, the Crown Prince and the Deputy Crown Prince, to enable this vital important sector to take role in servicing the national economy. Many countries that preceded us had have experiences in achieving positive results (which) led to creating economic  shift through revitalization of the cooperative sector.” The Cooperative Society Council’s  future projects will encourage the establishment of new associations in the pursuit of the Kingdom’s goal to be at the forefront of the top ten countries in the cooperative sector. On this topic, Prince Saud Bin Salman asserted that “there will be interest in the active existing cooperative association, as well as there will be care for each new initiative aimed at establishment of cooperative associations.” The Council also seeks to create a state of integration and cooperation with the Gulf, Arabs and international cooperative societies through participation in forums, conferences and exchange of experiences. On this topic, he said “thanks to God, the Kingdom is a model in many areas and aspects, our cooperative experience is appreciated in various forums and there are interactive communication and relationships based on the exchange of experiences and we will continue working integrally with international cooperatives.” Prince Saud Bin Salman held a meeting with the Saudi Cooperative Societies Board members earlier, during which they discussed what has been done and put a number of ideas that are being arranged for future work. They also voted for businessman Mohammad Al Hammad to handle the position of Honorary Vice-Chairman of the Saudi Cooperative Council. Also during the meeting, a working group has been formed among the Council members to prepare a final report for the year ended and to draft next year’s plans. About the facilities provided by the government to the cooperative sector, the Honorary Vice President said “it is such an important issue when it comes (to) talking about the importance of the cooperative society’s role, especially in light of the support provided by our government and the keenness of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman Bin Abdulaziz, the Crown Prince and the Deputy Crown Prince. This support should be exploited and take advantage of by the people in the establishment of various cooperative associations especially when you know it’s required to establish more associations where their total number in the Kingdom does not exceed 208, while we find that it has reached more than 22,000 associations in Morocco. He added “when we talk about the role of this sector in the national economy, we are talking about the integration and coordination of collaborative initiatives and opportunities to play an advanced role in serving the national economy, and we are not an exceptional case. There are countries totally dependent on the cooperative sector in their economy. We draw inspiration from these experiences and benefit from them, and God willing, strengthen the role of these associations in the near future and witness increase in their numbers by the support and directions of His Royal Highness Prince Saud Bin Salman, the Honorary President of the Saudi Cooperative Society, as he is keen on developing the cooperative sector in the Kingdom — SG