(VOVworld)- The Vietnamese Cooperatives Alliance held a meeting in Hanoi on Saturday to mark International Cooperatives Day 2015 with the theme “Choose Cooperative, Choose Equality”.

There are about 300,000 cooperative groups and 20,000 cooperatives. The Vietnamese Cooperative Alliance is involved in most of economic sectors attracting about 12,000 members. The cooperative economic sector has contributed greatly to Vietnam’s poverty reduction, new rural development, and improvement of people’s lives, especially those in remote and disadvantaged areas. The main message of International Cooperatives Day 2015 is to call on governments and cooperative movements to take action to promote equality.