Russian Minister of Sport and President of the Russian Olympic Committee Mikhail Degtyarev held a meeting with Ethiopian Deputy Minister of Culture and Sport Nefisa Almehadi. This was reported on the Russian Ministry’s website.

Degtyarev noted that relations between Russia and Ethiopia are based on a rich history and long-standing traditions of friendship. He recalled that athletes from the republic participated in Russian athletics and swimming competitions. In addition, the Ethiopian delegation performed well at the BRICS Games in Kazan.

“We will scale up this practice,” the Minister said.

According to the head of the ministry, one area of cooperation could be academic exchange programmes for students and teachers.

“The Russian Ministry of Sport has 14 subordinate specialised universities. Ethiopia has a high demand for training professional coaches at our facilities in swimming, athletics, football and adaptive sports. We will discuss this issue at the expert level with the heads of the relevant federations,” Degtyarev emphasised.

To implement these plans, the parties agreed to develop a cooperation programme based on a memorandum of understanding signed by the Olympic committees of the two countries in 2018. The first details of the partnership are planned to be discussed in November at an international sports forum in Samara.

TVBRICS