Jakarta, July 14 -- Indonesia's Deputy Minister of Cooperatives, Ferry Juliantono, is encouraging both rural and urban communities to develop cooperative-based housing, calling it an innovative way to accelerate the government's housing provision goals.

Juliantono emphasized that village and city communities are a strong potential base for cooperative membership.

"They have the right to establish cooperatives for any purpose, including community development," he said in a statement on Monday.

He made the remarks during the City and Village Exhibition Festival and the launch of a Housing Cooperative Model in Yogyakarta on Sunday.

The Ministry of Cooperatives, he said, will work closely with the Ministry of Housing to realize this initi...