Prime Minister Pierre Damien Habumuremyi has called for strengthening of cooperatives due to their significance in development.He was opening the African Co-operative Ministerial Conference which opened yesterday in Kigali. It has attracted delegates from over 30 African countries."The U N General Assembly declared the year 2012 as the International Year of Cooperatives. In so doing, the United Nations wanted to highlight the contribution of cooperatives to socio-economic development, to recognise their impact on poverty reduction, employment creation and social integration,” noted Habumuremyi."Giving consideration to cooperatives is very important. Indeed, this year of cooperatives has created an opportunity for the global Cooperative Movement and has allowed governments to discuss and take resolutions on the future of cooperatives”. The tenth International Co-operatives Alliance (ICA) conference whose theme, "Co-operative Enterprises Build A Better Africa” will discuss how the alliance can function as a relevant organisation. The outgoing chairperson of African Co-operative Ministerial Conference, Joseph Nyangah, of Kenya, said having the meeting in Rwanda has a positive impact as the country has improved in terms of co-operatives and participants will benefit from its experience. He said that in the three years he has been chairing the movement, much had been achieved in terms of what members agreed on in previous foras.Rwanda’s minister of Trade and Industry, Francois Kanimba, assumed the chair and will serve a three year term. "We all acknowledge the importance and role played by cooperatives in national and socio- economic development of our respective countries. Through cooperatives, I am confident that our continent can be more united and more focused on the socio-economic development,” he said.  "As the theme of this year states, let us consider the goals of the International Year of Cooperatives and strive to make Cooperatives our engines of economic growth while offering a dynamic and flexible business model, in order to build a better Africa”.The president of ICA, Dame Poline Green, urged participants to join and strengthen their cooperatives as they are important to national development.