The UN General Assembly has designated 2012 as the international year of cooperatives. A preparatory meeting will be held in Ulaanbaatar from May 3 to 6 on how the year will be observed in Mongolia. It has been jointly organized by the Ministries of Foreign Affairs and Trade, of Food, Agriculture and Light Industry and the UN Economic and Social Council.

Deputy Speaker N.Enkhbold, who is also the Head of Mongolian Cooperatives, and the Chief of SME Agency, D.Nyam-Osor, today told journalists the meeting will bring together representatives of Mongolian cooperatives and experts with delegates from the International Labor Organization and 40 countries including the USA, Canada, Germany, the Philippines, Japan, Kenya, Sweden and Vietnam. They will recommend the best ways to develop cooperatives in Mongolia, and suggest activities in 2012. The focus of the discussions will be on how the Government and the private sector can help in the growth of the cooperative movement.

A fair called “Cooperatives and SMEs as working places” would be organized in Misheel Expo between May 5 and 9.