Minster: Azerbaijan gains prestige through holding int'l sports events
By Amina Nazarli
Azerbaijan has always held international sport competitions at the highest level, so the country has gained great prestige in the world as a sporting nation.
Youth and Sport Minister Azad Rahimov made this statement, as he attended the 3rd Session of the Islamic Conference of Youth and Sports Ministers in Istanbul on October 6.
The minister emphasized that a striking example of this is Baku 2015 European Games, 2016 European Grand Prix Formula 1, and the 4th Islamic Solidarity Games to be held in 2017.
Concerning the successes achieved by Azerbaijani athletes at the
31st Summer Olympic Games in Rio, Rahimov mentioned that the
athletes returned home with 18 medals.
Thus, Azerbaijan took the seventh place in Europe, first among
Islamic states and second among the CIS countries.
The country sent a team of 56 athletes to the Rio Games, where our heroes won one gold, seven silver and 10 bronze. Azerbaijan was ranked the 39th in the medal table, while the national team become the most efficient team of the Games. The country has won 0.3 medals per athlete, with its relatively small team.
The minister went on saying that 2/3 of the Azerbaijani population, which on October 18 will mark the 25th anniversary of the independence, are young people under the age of 30.
Rahimov further emphasized that some 320 NGOs, working in different spheres are operating in the country. He said that 39 youth houses are operating in the country, informing the participants about a number of projects in the field of youth.
The State Program “Azerbaijani youth in 2005-2009, the State Program “Azerbaijani youth in 2011-2015” has been implemented until today and Azerbaijan's Youth Development Strategy 2015-2025, which includes more than 20 programs and covers 10 years for the first time, has been approved, he added.
During his speech, the minister informed the conference’s participants about the upcoming 4th Islamic Solidarity Games. A video about the Games was presented to the participants in order to form a complete view about the Games.
The Youth Strategy of the OIC, Sports Strategy of the OIC, resolutions on sports issues, the conference’s final report, Istanbul declaration, final documents about the date and venue of the next conference will be adopted during the conference.
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Amina Nazarli is AzerNews’ staff journalist, follow her on
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