Minister of Cooperatives: President Wants 30,000 Red and White Village Cooperatives Ready to Operate by July

President Prabowo Subianto wants around 30,000 physical buildings for warehouses, outlets, and equipment of the Red and White Village/Urban Ward Cooperatives (Kopdes Merah Putih) to be ready for operations. Jakarta (ANTARA) - Minister of Cooperatives Ferry Juliantono stated that President Prabowo Subianto is targeting approximately 30,000 Village/Urban Ward Cooperatives (Kopdes) Merah Putih to be ready to operate by July 2026 as part of efforts to strengthen the village economy. “The President wants the 30,000 physical buildings for warehouses, outlets, and equipment of the Red and White Village/Urban Ward Cooperatives to be ready for operations,” Ferry said while attending the National Coordination Meeting of the Ministry of Cooperatives in Jakarta on Wednesday. “The President envisions that if 30,000 Red and White Cooperatives are built and operational, it would be the largest number (of cooperatives) in the world,” he added. Ferry stated that the construction of Kopdes Merah Putih is currently ongoing in various regions across Indonesia. He mentioned that as of now, 37,327 cooperatives are being built throughout Indonesia, with 8,927 of them having been completed 100 percent. He added that the government will begin the symbolic inauguration of operations for 1,061 Red and White Village/Urban Ward Cooperatives on 16 May 2026 in Nganjuk Regency, East Java. These 1,061 cooperatives are Kopdes Merah Putih in Central Java and East Java that are ready to operate. The inauguration coincides with President Prabowo Subianto’s visit to Nganjuk to inaugurate the Marsinah Museum. “After that event, the President will visit the Red and White Village/Urban Ward Cooperative and simultaneously inaugurate the operations symbolically for the cooperatives in Central Java and East Java,” he said. Ferry stated that the government will also hold further inaugurations of Kopdes Merah Putih operations after the readiness of physical buildings and supporting facilities reaches the target of around 30,000 units. In addition to physical construction, the Minister of Cooperatives said the government is preparing a Presidential Instruction (Inpres) on the operationalisation of Kopdes Merah Putih as the basis for implementing the programme. The government targets this Inpres to be issued before the cooperative operations inauguration on 16 May 2026.