DUBAI, 5th July, 2015 (WAM) -- The UAE National Olympic Committee, NOC, has granted its accreditation certificate to the Automobile and Touring Club in the UAE, ATCUAE, bringing it into its fold as an affiliated member.

H.H. Sheikh Ahmed bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Chairman of the UAE National Olympic Committee, presented the certificate to Mohammed ben Sulayem, FIA Vice President and President of ATCUAE, in the presence of Abdul Rahman bin Mohammed Al Owais, Minister of Health and NOC Vice President and Mohammed Al Kamali, NOC Secretary-General. The move underlines the growing links between the Olympic movement and motor sport worldwide.

The ATCUAE?s request for UAE NOC affiliation was strongly supported by the FIA, motor sport?s world governing body, and its motorbikes counterpart, the FIM.

"ATCUAE enjoys explicit international recognition from FIA and FIM which in turn have been officially recognised by the International Olympic Committee. Based on that, and according to the National Charter, the National Olympic Committee has granted ATCUAE the accreditation as an entity that is in charge of overseeing the organisation of auto and motorcycle activities, especially as it has an official exclusive recognition by the international bodies," said Al Owais.

"We are honoured to have been granted affiliation to our country?s National Olympic Committee, and look forward to working together to advance the UAE?s sporting ambitions," said Ben Sulayem.

As the sole representative of both the FIA and the FIM in the UAE, the ATCUAE is responsible for upholding and applying all the rules, regulations and sporting codes of the two global sporting bodies.

The FIM became a full member of the International Olympic Committee in 2000 while the FIA became a full member in 2013 as part of the move to bring the federation in line with the best international sporting, governance and ethical standards. The IOC has enjoyed the official IOC status of Recognised Federation since 2000.

As the UAE?s national motor sport authority, the ATCUAE overseas an annual sporting calendar consisting of more than 140 events and is the sporting organiser of the F1 Etihad Airways Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.

The club also stages the Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge which marked its 25th edition two months ago as a round of both the FIA World Cup for Cross Country Rallies and the FIM Cross Country Rallies World Championship.

Copyright Emirates News Agency (WAM) 2015.