The Bhutan Olympic Committee hosted a meeting of the South Asian Olympic Council (SAOC) in Thimphu, Bhutan on the 6th of June 2017. The presidents and secretary generals from the South Asian Olympic Committees of Bangladesh, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka, attended the meeting. A senior representative from the Olympic Council of Asia, Mr. Vinod Kumar Tiwari also attended the meeting. All of the delegates are here for the first time and further, this is the first time ever that the South Asian Olympic Council has representatives from all South Asian countries present.
The meeting was inaugurated by His Excellency Lyonpo Norbu Wangchuk, Hon’ble Education Minister, Ministry of Education as the Chief Guest in the presence of His Royal Highness Prince Jigyel Ugyen Wangchuck, His Majesty’s Representative and the President of the Bhutan Olympic Committee.
His Excellency Lyonpo Norbu Wangchuk, stated that, “Bhutan had the honour of hosting our first South Asian Olympic Council meeting here in Thimphu in December 2005. It has been 12 long years since and most of the Presidents and Secretary Generals of the South Asian Olympic Committees have changed. However, what has not changed is our commitment, our energy and our zeal, to promote sports in our region.”
Lyonpo also said that, “the Royal Government of Bhutan and the Bhutan Olympic Committee are working to make Bhutan a sporting country, one with a vibrant sporting culture. We are committed to make sport a part of our daily lives by putting in place an enabling environment for the overall development of sports. An important step towards this aspiration is the development of a National Sports Policy and the cabinet has recently commissioned the development of the national sports policy that will provide the strategic direction and bring together all actors in making Bhutan a sporting nation.”
The SAOC meeting discussed various issues related to the development of sports in the region and also looked at finalizing revisions to the constitution of the SAOC. The members will also be finalizing the dates and sporting events for the next games to be hosted in Kathmandu, Nepal in 2019.
