Yousuf Al-Othaimeen said actions are needed from these societies, not words.

The minister suggested a number of projects that cooperative societies could pursue.

The first proposal was to establish a transportation project, providing good transport facilities for teachers and students who have long relied on private drivers and damaged cars.

He also said that the societies could establish health care facilities managed by charity organizations.

He advised cooperative societies to invest in souvenir production with an emphasis and appreciation for local culture. He added that so far it has been done only by expatriates and that it could be a good source of income for these societies.

The ministry was reportedly preparing a booklet that contains the names and contact information of all cooperative societies, but printing delays prevented copies from being distributed at the forum.

However, the ministry promised to send them out to cooperative societies and other relevant organizations once printed.

Hamad Al-Abdul Kareem, head of a customer protection society, gave a lecture about the rules and regulations of consumer protection in the West and the UN, but claimed that the Kingdom does not have such legislation. He called for such regulations to be implemented.

Al-Abdul Kareem said the society was independent from the government, to the disapproval of some members of the audience who said that the organization needed to be supervised.

Al-Abdul Kareem added that cooperative societies should help to reduce prices in the market. This led to an objection from columnist Itidal Al-Itaiwi.

“After the whole discussion about your society, what did you really do for the public? How could they reach you?” he asked.

Al-Abdul Kareem replied that his organization had been operating for one year only, adding that they are not a regulatory body and staffed by volunteers.