India and Italy have explored new avenues for bilateral cooperation in the cooperative sector, with discussions focusing on worker ownership, cooperative financing, social cooperatives and farmer-owned food brands.
The discussions took place on November 2, 2026, when Secretary of the Ministry of Cooperation Dr Ashish Bhutani met Italian Ambassador to India Antonio Bartoli at Atal Akshay Urja Bhawan in New Delhi.
The meeting assumes significance as India seeks to strengthen its cooperative movement under the vision of Sahkar Se Samriddhi and build international partnerships to promote cooperative-led economic growth.
The Italian delegation included David Colombo, Counsellor for Economic Affairs, and Nicola Caccoparado, Chief of Staff for Press and Media at the Italian Embassy. Additional Secretary Siddharth Jain, Joint Secretary Anand Kumar Jha and Deputy Secretary Ramesh Kumar represented the Ministry of Cooperation.
Both sides held detailed discussions on the cooperative movements in their respective countries, the contribution of cooperative institutions to national economies and opportunities for sharing expertise and best practices.
Worker buyouts and ownership emerged as one of the key areas of discussion. The concept allows employees to acquire ownership of businesses, offering potential lessons for cooperative enterprise development. Other areas included cooperative financing, social cooperative societies, cooperative banking, farmer-owned food brands and consumer cooperatives.
The discussions also explored possibilities for institutional collaboration, with both sides expressing their willingness to exchange experiences, share available expertise and maintain regular dialogue.
Italy’s experience in social cooperatives and cooperative enterprises could offer useful insights for India as it seeks to expand cooperative participation across sectors and strengthen community-based economic institutions. For India, international engagement could also open avenues for learning about alternative ownership models, financing mechanisms and cooperative marketing practices.
The dialogue is expected to provide a foundation for further exchanges between the two countries, although no specific agreement or formal memorandum of understanding was announced in the meeting details released by the Ministry.
India has been expanding its international cooperative outreach in recent years. The Ministry of Cooperation has signed a memorandum of understanding with Zambia’s Ministry of Small and Medium Enterprise Development to promote cooperatives and facilitate trade alliances between cooperative institutions of the two countries.
India has also signed an MoU with Mongolia to promote cooperative principles and collaboration, covering areas such as education, training, information exchange, investment, joint initiatives and market development.
Meanwhile, the National Cooperative Exports Limited (NCEL), established to strengthen cooperative-led exports, has entered into an MoU with Senegal’s Ministry of Industry and Trade. It has also entered into an agreement with Indonesian companies to explore international trade opportunities.
These engagements reflect India’s broader effort to connect domestic cooperatives with international markets, institutions and expertise. The latest dialogue with Italy adds another dimension to that effort, bringing worker ownership, social cooperation and farmer-owned brands into focus as potential areas for bilateral learning.
