The Volga Region State University of Physical Culture, Sports and Tourism hosted a meeting of BRICS sports ministers dedicated to the prospects of sports cooperation. The meeting was hosted by Mikhail Degtyarev, Minister of Sport of Russia. Mikhail Khorev, Special Representative of the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs for International Sports Co-operation, also took part in the meeting.
"It is symbolic that our meeting is taking place exactly in the capital of Tatarstan. This is a city with a thousand-year history and a very rich culture, the centre of one of the most hospitable regions of Russia. Kazan rightfully holds the status of the sports capital of our country," said the Federal Minister, opening the meeting.
He spoke about the development of sports in Russia and highlighted Russian initiatives concerning international sports co-operation.
"The BRICS Games in Russia are held in an open format. Our main task is to provide athletes with equal opportunities to freely participate in competitions without restrictions. The BRICS Games are a new interstate format based on the principles of equality, fairness and openness. They have reached a completely new level," said Mikhail Degtyarev.
An important initiative was the development of a sports cooperation framework programme. It will contain the rules for holding the BRICS Games in the presiding country. Russia took the initiative to develop this programme. The document is designed to become a foundation for the development of co-operation, to consolidate the inherent values of the sports movement.
"I thank my colleagues for their joint work and would like to note that we are ready to develop contacts in the field of sports, to promote the formation of common approaches with BRICS partners in the field of anti-doping and other areas. I believe that we should together oppose attempts to use sport as an instrument of pressure and discrimination against athletes and continue active joint work," the Minister of Sport emphasised.
The meeting was attended by representatives of Brazil, China, Ethiopia, India, Iran, Ethiopia, South Africa and the United Arab Emirates. The BRICS Ministers presented the best practices of physical culture and sports development in their countries, as well as summarised the results of the BRICS Games and discussed the prospects for joint sports projects.
