JAKARTA, July 10 (Xinhua) -- Indonesia has established around 30,000 Red and White Village Cooperatives (KDMP) nationwide and aims to increase the number to about 40,000 by the end of this year as part of efforts to strengthen the rural economy, Cooperatives Minister Ferry Juliantono said Friday.
Juliantono said the cooperatives that are ready to operate are scheduled to be inaugurated by President Prabowo Subianto in August.
Once the village cooperatives began operating and delivering benefits to local communities, the government would encourage them to expand into production, distribution, industry and credit services to further strengthen the sector, Juliantono added.
The KDMP program is one of the Indonesian government's strategic initiatives under a presidential instruction last year, which aims to develop and revitalize 80,000 village cooperatives nationwide in phases. ■
