Johannesburg, South Africa, April 12, 2022: The President of the Indian Olympic Association, Dr. Narinder Dhruv Batra, has revealed that the IOA is exploring the possibility of signing a joint Memorandum of Understanding with their counterparts in South Africa.
On his Facebook page, Dr. Batra said he had invited the President of the South African Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee (SASCOC), Mr. Barry Hendricks, along with other sports officials to India to discuss a partnership agreement at the ministerial level between the two “BRICS” nations.
The IOA President said the matter was raised at a welcome dinner hosted by the SASCOC President in Johannesburg on April 10 and that discussions would continue on the sidelines of the FIH Women’s Hockey Junior World Cup in Potchefstroom, North West province. Dr. Batra is also President of the International Hockey Federation (FIH) and an IOC member since 2019.
The dinner was attended by Seif El Dine, President, African Hockey; Deon Morgan, President, Hockey South Africa; Lawndile Simelane, 1st Vice President, SASCOC and Hockey South Africa; Nozipho Jafta, CEO, SASCOC; and Marissa Langeni, CEO, Hockey South Africa.
“We had purposeful discussions and will meet again today at the FIH Women's Hockey Jr World Cup venue in Potchefstroom,” Dr. Batra said.
“I, on behalf of the NOC of India, invited Barry, Seif and Deon to India along with their delegation to discuss a joint MOU between India and South Africa and at Hon'ble Ministers level for MOU on sports between ‘BRICS’ nations.”