The International Cooperative Alliance adopts the Shanghai Declaration, outlining 11 key pillars to strengthen cooperative trade and development worldwide.
KUALA LUMPUR: The International Cooperative Alliance has adopted the Shanghai Declaration, setting a new global direction for cooperative trade and development.
The declaration was signed at the ICA Trade and Development Forum in Shanghai, held alongside the 2025 International Year of Cooperatives.
ANGKASA president Datuk Seri Dr Abdul Fattah Abdullah called the declaration a key milestone for the global cooperative movement.
He said it outlines strategies to strengthen cooperation among regional and global cooperatives aligned with UN Sustainable Development Goals.
“It also emphasises that cooperative trade should be central to future development strategies, especially in fast-growing regions such as Central Asia and Africa,” he stated.
The declaration features 11 key pillars covering cooperative trade’s future direction, climate change, artificial intelligence, and food security.
Other pillars include government policy frameworks, establishing a global cooperative label, and social financing initiatives targeting wealth redistribution.
Abdul Fattah said the declaration calls for greater international recognition of cooperatives through the Co-op Label and .coop domain.
“Malaysia’s participation in this declaration reaffirms our role as a strategic partner in strengthening the regional and global cooperative movement,” he added.
During the forum, Abdul Fattah presented a paper on building regional cooperation frameworks in Asia-Pacific.
He stated that cooperatives serve as both drivers of economic growth and advocates for social and global equity.
The forum was chaired by ICA Director-General Jeroen Douglas and attended by delegates from 42 member countries. – Bernama
