Saudi representatives attend International Olympic Committee meetings

RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s representatives to various commissions of International Olympic Committee (IOC) attended the IOC’s annual meetings in Lausanne, Switzerland this week. The meetings coincide with the Winter Youth Olympics, which are currently being held in Lausanne and end on Jan. 22.

Two board members of the Saudi Arabian Olympic Committee — Princess Reema bint Bandar (Women in Sports Commission) and Prince Fahd bin Jalawi bin Abdul Aziz bin Musaid (Public Affairs and Social Development Through Sports Commission) — represented the Kingdom.

Saudi Arabia has three representatives in the IOC, with Prince Abdul Aziz bin Turki Al-Faisal on the Marketing Committee.

Among the topics discussed during the Women in Sports Committee’s meeting were gender equality in sports, the participation of women in community sports, and the prevention of harassment.

“We work closely with all members of the Olympic family through the IOC Women in Sports Committee to support the participation of women at all levels of sports,” Princess Reema said after the meeting. “We discussed all the advances that have been achieved in this area, as well as some of the key challenges that are facing women currently.”

She also expressed her delight that Saudi Arabia had made considerable recent progress in its efforts to encourage all segments of society “to embrace sports as a way of life.”

Prince Jalawi said that, given Saudi Arabia’s preeminence in the region, the Kingdom has made its presence felt in the Olympic family. “At the Public Affairs and Social Development through Sport Committee, we work to harness the power of sports to serve all communities and help to build cultural bridges between them. Sport is a very powerful tool to realize these goals,” he said.