Youth and Sports Minister, Int'l Olympic Committee discuss Olympic Movement

The Azerbaijan Minister of Youth and Sports Farid Gaibov has met in Lausanne with President of the International Olympic Committee Thomas Bach.

During the meeting, the sides discussed were the Olympic Movement, Azernews reports. The minister spoke about the work carried out for the development of sports in Azerbaijan and international competitions, which are held in the country.

Head of the Sports Department Elnur Mammadov, and the adviser to the President of the Azerbaijan Boxing Federation Samir Huseynov also participated in the meeting.

The International Olympic Committee is a non-governmental sports organization based in Lausanne, Switzerland. Founded in 1894, IOC aims to promote Olympism throughout the world and to lead the Olympic Movement.

It is the authority responsible for organizing the modern (Summer, Winter, and Youth) Olympic Games.

Since 1992, Azerbaijan National Olympic Committee has worked purposefully and consistently for the dynamic development of sports in the country.

Thanks to President Ilham Aliyev, who has headed the committee since 1997, Azerbaijan has witnessed a rapid development of the Olympic movement.

Much attention is being shown in Azerbaijan to holding international sports competitions.

Major sports events including the first European Games (2015), Islamic Solidarity Games (2017), and the European Youth Olympic Festival (2019) were organized in Azerbaijan.

In 2015, the first European Games were held in Azerbaijan with 10,000 athletes from 50 European countries. The competition involved 11 sports facilities in Baku and one in Mingachevir.

Azerbaijani athletes won 56 medals, including 21 gold, 15 silver, and 20 bronze, taking 2nd place in terms of the number of medals.

Furthermore, the country hosted the 4th Islamic Solidarity Games, where the Azerbaijani team secured a total of 162 medals (75 gold, 50 silver, and 37 bronze).