Belarus, Azerbaijan develop friendly relations in sport

Belarus highly values the friendly relations with Azerbaijan and counts on their further strengthening, President of the Belarusian National Olympic Committee Viktor Lukashenko said as he met with Minister of Youth and Sports of Azerbaijan, head of the European Gymnastics Federation Farid Gayibov.

Viktor Lukashenko highly appreciated Farid Gayibov’s contribution to the development of gymnastics and expressed confidence in the expansion of cooperation.



“The interaction between our countries and sports authorities has always been dynamic. We enjoy fraternal relations. We have great respect for Azerbaijani athletes, and we ourselves are happy to visit your country. It is gratifying to hear your positive assessment of our sports infrastructure. Your country has equally modern large-scale facilities,” the head of the NOC said.

Viktor Lukashenko also thanked the International and European Gymnastics Federations for their principled position and the decision to allow Belarusian gymnasts to compete on the world stage using their national flag and anthem ahead of the European championships in Bulgaria.

“This is an absolutely correct decision aimed at preventing the politicization of sport, which, unfortunately, took a very long time to arrive. The opportunity to compete under national symbols was a true inspiration and a powerful incentive for our athletes. The Belarusian gymnasts won medals, soaked in the atmosphere of the tournament, and heard the anthem of their home country. They missed competing at such a high level,” Viktor Lukashenko said.

For his part, Farid Gayibov noted that specialists from Azerbaijan could learn from the experience of employees of the National Research and Treatment Center of Sports and the teaching staff of the Belarusian State University of Physical Culture.

“Belarus achieves good results in many sports; you have a competent coaching staff and highly qualified specialists. Among gymnastic disciplines, I would particularly highlight trampoline gymnastics. Not every country is capable of achieving such significant results at the world level,” Farid Gayibov said.

Belarusian Minister of Sports Sergei Kovalchuk also took part in the meeting.

Earlier in the day, Farid Gayibov toured the key sports infrastructure facilities of the Belarusian capital.

Press service of the NOC of Belarus
Photos by the NOC of Belarus