The cooperative sector’s share in the national economy is expected to reach at least 15% in the sixth five-year economic development plan (2016-2021), said the general director of the Promotion, Education and Research Bureau at the Ministry of Cooperatives, Labor and Social Welfare. “The current share of cooperatives in the economy is about 6.5%, which is expected to rise after the true potential of the sector is recognized in the next development plan,” ISNA quoted Hamdollah Rostami as saying. Rostami criticized the lack of a precise definition of the role of cooperatives in development plans. “It is not yet clear if the cooperative sector is intended to have a synergistic role or assist in establishing social justice or simply engage in infrastructure development.”
