Muscat: Oman Olympic Committee (OOC) participated in the 26th General Assembly of the Association of National Olympic Committees (ANOC) held in South Korea from October 19 to 21.
The meeting was attended by representatives of 187 National Olympic Committees in Seoul, with the participation of representatives of 16 committees online.
The opening function was attended by Yoon Seok-yeol, President of the Republic of South Korea, and Thomas Bach, President of International Olympic Committee (IOC), and representatives of international and continental federations and the organising committees of the tournaments.
Khalid bin Muhammad Al-Zubair, OOC Chairman, headed the Omani delegation, accompanied by Taha bin Sulaiman Al-Kishry, OOC SecretaryGeneral.
South Korean President Yoon Seok-yeol opened the 26th ANOC General Assembly last Wednesday at the Seoul Convention and Exhibition Centre in which he thanked ANOC and all NOCs for their great efforts to keep the Olympic spirit alive, especially in the years that South Korea shares the values set by the IOC in achieving independence and solidarity through sport.
He noted that South Korea had previously hosted the 1988 Summer Olympic Games in Seoul, 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, and is preparing to host the 2024 Winter Youth Olympics in Gangwon.
In his part, Dr. Robin Mitchell, Acting President of ANOC said that representatives of about 200 NOCs participated in the meetings of the General Assembly, and President of the Korean Olympic Committee Lee Ki-hyung mentioned in his speech that it is the 3rd time that Seoul hosts the meetings of the General Assembly of ANOC after two years1986 and 2006.
IOC President, Thomas Bach, gave a brief speech in which he pointed out that Seoul is a great Olympic city, and called on all NOCs to join hands and stand united together to advance the Olympic movement.
During the 3rd day meetings, ANOC Board of Directors was elected for the new term (2022-2026), where Sheikh Joaan bin Hamad Al Thani, President of Qatar Olympic Committee, won the position of First Vice President of ANOC, and Robin Mitchell was recommended as President.
During the meeting, the minutes of ANOC twenty-fifth meeting, held in Greece last year, were approved. The president of ANOC and the Secretary General reviewed reports and recent developments. It also reviewed a report from the World Anti-Doping Agency, and reports from the organising committees of the upcoming Olympics represented in the 24th Winter Olympics to be held in Beijing this year, the 2023 World Beach Games, the 2024 Paris Olympics, and the 25th Winter Olympics in Italy 2026.
On the second day of the meetings, an awards ceremony was held in which the best athletes, sports teams and distinguished Olympic committees for the past year 2021 were honoured.
The committee consisted of representatives from each of the continental federations, the Chairman of the Athletes Committee, the Secretary General of ANOC, and the President of the Asian Football Federation. The meetings came out with important decisions in the interest of international sports and athletes.
