Turkey Gains Seat on International Co-operatives Alliance Board

September 16, 2026 · GıdaTarım

Unal Ornek secured a position on the ICA's Central Committee with 412 votes at the ICA 2026 Global Conference in Panama, marking a historic first for Turkish cooperativism in the organization's highest decision-making body.

The Turkish cooperative movement achieved a historic success in the elections held as part of the ICA 2026 Global Conference in Panama. In a critical election where 981 delegates from approximately 200 countries voted, Unal Ornek, representing Turkey, secured 412 votes, placing him in 10th position. With this result, Ornek was elected to the 15-member Central Committee of the International Co-operatives Alliance. Turkey, with its approximately 150-year cooperative history, has entered the main board of the umbrella organization, where massive holding cooperatives compete, for the first time in its upper ranks.

The International Co-operatives Alliance, founded in 1895, is the highest-level umbrella organization representing 3 million cooperatives with 1 billion members worldwide. Until now, Turkey has been represented in the management of sub-organizations such as ICAO, ICFO, and Cooperatives Europe, and with this step, it has moved to the highest decision-making mechanism. This representation, achieved as a result of the general assembly held on September 15, will enable our country's agricultural, fishery, and rural development cooperatives to have a direct say in the decision-making processes in the global arena.

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