The visit to the UAE was comprehensively fruitful for our delegation
Our delegation, within the framework of the 40th General Assembly of the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA), took part in a number of meetings to further strengthen the development of sports in our country, exchange experience with foreign countries. In particular, the head of our delegation, OSA Vice-President Otabek Umarov held meetings with the leaders of the Olympic Movement of developed countries, heads of National Olympic Committees and International organizations. These events were also attended by the Secretary General of the NOC of Uzbekistan Oybek Kasimov and the Deputy Chairman of the Committee Azizjon Kamilov.
One of the important meetings was held with the President of the Jordanian Olympic Committee, Faisal Al-Hussein. A person with extensive practical experience in international sports organizations, who is chairman and member of a number of commissions and committees of the OCA and the IOC, during the meeting demonstrated good awareness of the development of the Olympic movement in our country.
Admittedly, Jordan has shown significant growth in sports such as football, boxing, and taekwondo in recent years. At the meeting, an exchange of views took place on increasing the participation of National teams in the international arena, exchanging experience in order to improve results, conducting joint training camps, joint preparation for major competitions. In a conversation that took place in a warm atmosphere, he shared his experience and skills.
"We have a lot of potential points of contact and areas for development, so most of the negotiations were devoted to partnership issues in preparation for future major competitions. I am sure that we have managed to reach a new stage of cooperation that will benefit both states," Otabek Umarov said after the meeting.
During the visit, members of our delegation met separately with the President of the National Olympic Committee of the United Arab Emirates, Sheikh Ahmad bin Mohammad bin Rashid Al Maktoum and the Chairman of the General Directorate of Sports of the UAE, Vice-President of the IOC of the country, Dr. Ahmad Abdullah Humaid Bel Hul Al Falasi. During the conversation, Uzbekistan's leadership positions in many sports areas were highlighted. The UAE, in turn, is interested in acquiring experience that will allow achieving significant results.
The head of our delegation, in turn, thanked Sheikh Ahmad bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum for the hospitality and expressed the following thoughts: "The case when a professional athlete becomes one of the main sports officials of the country - among other things, His Highness is the owner of many awards and international titles in the traditional equestrian sport for the Middle East. I am sure that this meeting will pave the way for a closer partnership of the National Olympic Committees, which in turn is one of the strategic objectives of the OCA. If today we managed to give an impetus to the cooperation of two important members of our organization, then this is already a great success," Otabek Umarov shared his thoughts.
During the event, the Russian delegation met with the Secretary General of the Asian Hockey Federation, Muhammad Tayab Ikram. It should be noted that he has repeatedly arrived in our country on a working visit and has invested a lot of work in the development of field hockey in Uzbekistan. Thanks to his efforts, a modern playground specializing in this sport was built in the Andijan region. Also with his participation in December 2019, the foundation of a new field hockey field was laid in the capital. This sport is included in the program of the Asian Youth Games Tashkent-2025. According to the requirements of prestigious starts, another new field should be built. During the conversation, an exchange of views took place on the construction of a second arena around the Olympic Village.
"The conversation with the CEO of the Asian Field Hockey Association turned out to be very informative. Mr. Muhammad Tayab Ikram is an experienced sports functionary who devoted his life to the development of a unique sport, which is now being revived in Uzbekistan. In this process, the support provided on his initiative through Olympic Solidarity is invaluable – including thanks to it, two fields for field hockey are being created in Tashkent at once, which will allow high-level competitions to be held within the framework of the Asian Youth Games 2025, in the program of which this discipline is included for the first time in the history of the Asian Games," said OSA Vice President Otabek Umarov.
During these meetings, the Vice-President of the OCA Otabek Umarov spoke about the reforms carried out by the head of our state on physical culture and sports, promotion of a healthy lifestyle among the population, regulatory acts of our Government adopted in this direction.
Also, on the eve of the 40th anniversary of the General Assembly of the Olympic Council of Asia, negotiations were held with the Acting President of the OCA, Raja Randhir Singh, and the Director General of the OCA, Dr. Hussein Al-Musallam, as well as a fruitful dialogue with the head of the Association of National Olympic Committees, Robin Mitchell, and with the Secretary General of the Organization, Gunilla Lindberg.
The exchange of experience with leading experts of the sports industry is useful for Uzbek sports in all respects. At these meetings, a number of promising plans for reaching a new level of sports development in our country were discussed.
