Jakarta, May 27 -- Cooperatives Minister Budi Arie Setiadi highlighted that the creation of Red and White Village Cooperatives is part of the government's efforts to reduce economic inequality, improve welfare, and eliminate poverty.

"Cooperatives are a tool with a noble purpose, namely to improve the community's welfare and encourage a positive change in Indonesia's economy to be more progressive and fair," he said as quoted from an official statement here on Tuesday.

The minister stressed that cooperatives embody the nation's economic ideology, which should be continuously strengthened, making them the main instrument in improving welfare and achieving more substantive social justice for all Indonesians.

He noted that the Indonesian ...