Russian President: sport unites people and builds bridges between nations

President of Russia Vladimir Putin took part in the plenary session of the 13th International Sports Forum “Russia: Country of Sports”, where he spoke about the high mission of sport in uniting nations. The TV BRICS International Media Network is the international media partner of the event.

The forum’s motto is “Sport for the Future: Winning Together”. Russia stands for cooperation among countries and peoples based on equality, mutual respect for national interests, and appreciation of cultural diversity, the President emphasised.

"Sport is meant to unite people and build bridges between nations. This is its high mission and one of the key objectives of international sports organisations. [...] In the United Nations’ current sustainable development agenda, sport is recognised as one of the most important factors in achieving goals in health, education and social integration. Russia fully shares this approach and takes it into account in the implementation of its national development goals"

Vladimir Putin President of Russia

The President also noted that modern information technologies are beginning to play an important role in the development of sport. Therefore, alongside traditional disciplines, Russia is actively promoting new ones – including phygital sports and cyber sports.

The development of sports infrastructure was highlighted by Mikhail Degtyarev, Minister of Sport of the Russian Federation.

“Thousands of sports facilities have been opened across the country. This is part of the comprehensive state programme ‘Sports of Russia’, under which hundreds more facilities and sports schools will be built and launched over the next three years,” the Minister said.

International participants of the forum supported the ideas of cooperation. Nasser Riden Thamer Al-Motairi, Secretary-General of the Asia Cooperation Dialogue (ACD), underlined the importance of sport as an instrument of economic growth and sustainable development.

“I believe one of the most significant achievements of this meeting is that we have established a working group on sport. This group will prepare a roadmap and a mechanism to bring cooperation into a practical dimension,” he added.

Anselm Sanyatwe, Minister of Sport, Recreation, Arts and Culture of Zimbabwe, stated that the republic would continue to maintain strong partnership relations with the Russian Federation based on mutual respect.

Alfred Foloko, President of the National Olympic Committee of Zambia, highlighted the importance of investing in young people through sport.

“Digitalisation opens up new opportunities for the development of sports talent and for Africa’s integration into the international sporting community. [...] The greatest resource of Africa is its youth. If we invest in them through sport, we will not only train champions in different disciplines, but we will also nurture the leaders of the future,” he concluded.

The “Russia: Country of Sports” Forum was established by presidential decree in 2009.

Photo: Broadcast of the speech by the President of Russia at the plenary session of the 13th International Sports Forum “Russia: Country of Sports”