Dubai, United Arab Emirates, May 25, 2021: The National Olympic Committee of the United Arab Emirates has held talks with the Belarus NOC on increasing cooperation between the two countries in the sports field.
Mohammed Ben Sulayem, Secretary General of the UAE NOC, met his Belarusian counterpart Polina Golovina last week in Dubai, where both sides discussed ways of expanding bilateral cooperation in various fields.
Also present at the meeting was Evgeny Lazarev, Consul General of the Republic of Belarus in the UAE.
The main topic of the meeting centred on preparations for the Tokyo Olympic Games amid the difficult COVID-19 pandemic, the possibility of organising joint training camps, exchanging visits for athletes and coaches, and projects to popularise the Olympic Movement.
Secretary General Sulayem stressed the importance of extending bridges of cooperation at all levels based on the vision of His Highness Sheikh Ahmed bin Mohamed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, President of the UAE NOC.
The UAE side also expressed keen interest in the development of sports like judo, shooting and taekwondo. Belarus, in turn, suggested that 2004 Olympic judo champion Igor Makrov, who is now coach and founder of the Belarus judo school, visit the Olympic judo school in Abu Dhabi as a first practical step.
Secretary General Golovina extended an invitation to the UAE NOC to take part in a National Athletes Forum in Minsk next year, as well as take part in the 30th anniversary celebrations of the Belarus NOC.
Both sides also discussed signing a Memorandum of Cooperation later this year.
