RIYADH — The President of the Saudi Arabian Olympic Committee (SAOC) Prince Abdulaziz Bin Turki Al-Faisal affirmed the Kingdom's belief in the power of sport by holding a conference of the National Olympic Committees of the G20 countries.

The conference was organized in partnership between the Saudi Secretariat of the G20 and the SAOC on Tuesday at the digital city in Riyadh under the title "The Olympic Movement During and After the Corona Pandemic," as part of the program of international conferences held on the sidelines of the year of the Saudi G20 Presidency 2020 in the presence of the of SAOC Vice President Prince Fahd Bin Jalawi Bin Abdulaziz Bin Musaed.

Prince Abdulaziz said at the opening of the conference that the sustainability of the sports sector is essential for the growth of the economy, health care systems and the prosperity of society, stressing that the world at the present time and after the global crisis "COVID-19" needs sports more than ever to restore contact, recover and continue.

He praised the increase in the Olympic solidarity budget by 16% in the 2020-2024 Olympic Games, stressing that this increase proves the strength of the sports sector at the level of the countries of the world and its transformation of all the challenges it faces into opportunities.

President of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and Honorary President of the Conference, Dr. Thomas Bach congratulated the Kingdom for the inclusion of sport in the axes of the life program in the Kingdom's Vision 2030, which confirms the contribution of sport to changing life for the better.

Bach said that the National Olympic Committees Conference sends a message to all countries of the world that the sports sector is ready to contribute to rebuilding the post-"COVID-19" world.

Meanwhile, the IOC Member Princess Rima Bint Bandar Bin Sultan, affirmed the necessity of utilizing the resources of the International Olympic Committee to support and develop women's sport locally and internationally, while promoting equality in women's participation through sport.

Dr. Tedros Adhanom, director-general of the World Health Organization, indicated the importance of the role of sport and physical activity in promoting a healthy lifestyle and preventing non-communicable diseases, and that sport is a natural partner of WHO in achieving the health goals of the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals, with the importance of strengthening cooperation between ministries of sports and ministries of health. Of the G20 countries.

Vice President of the U20 Urban Community Communication Group Eng. Husam Al-Qurashi emphasized the importance of benefiting from hosting sporting events for urban development, and the return on investment on the structure and lifestyle. The fact that sport is a factor affecting social integration and integration and sustainable economic growth.

Othman Al-Muammar, head of the Y20 Youth Communication Group, stressed the need to empower youth through sport and the possibility of using it to build a new generation of leaders.

The President of the Italian Olympic Committee Giovanni Malago praised the inclusion of the initiative of the National Olympic Committees Conference within the program of international conferences held on the sidelines of the year of the Saudi Presidency of the G20, calling for the continuation of the initiative during Italy's presidency of the G20 summit next year.

While a member of the Japanese Olympic Committee Mumi Keiko revealed Japan's preparations to host the next Olympic Games in 2021, and the impact of Japan's hosting of the 2019 Osaka Summit on the Olympic movement in various aspects.

The President of the Association of National Olympic Committees Robin Mitchell praised the global role of the Olympic committees in responding to the corona pandemic, and the Association of National Olympic Committees' support for the United Nations goals of sustainable development.

The head of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) Whitold Panca touched on the global agency's response during the pandemic, revealing the lessons learned from the pandemic, so that the agency would be a prize for similar crises in the future.

Director of Olympic Solidarity and Olympic Committee Relations James MacLeod said they have devised innovative ways to benefit from Olympic solidarity programs and plans to financially sustain the Olympic movement.

The conference witnessed the participation of all the National Olympic Committees of the G20 countries, in addition to the countries that were invited to attend the G20 summit, namely: the UAE, Jordan, Spain, Rwanda, Singapore, Switzerland and Vietnam, the WHO, international federations and continental Olympic committees. — SG