Belarus will strive to be the first host country for the new competition – the European Games.

On September 8, Minsk / Tatyana Polezhay - BELTA /. Belarus will strive to become the first host country of the new competition – the European Games. This was stated today by the President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko at a meeting with participants of the Executive Committee of the European Olympic Committees (EOC), BELTA correspondent reports. "We wholeheartedly support the initiative of the European Olympic Committees to organise new comprehensive competitions – the European Games – from 2015," said the Head of State. Alexander Lukashenko stressed that if Belarus is allowed to become the first host country of such a representative sports forum, it will be held at the highest level. The President of Belarus also proposed to consider the possibility of joint hosting of these Games by several states. "The implementation of such a project will serve to further bring our peoples closer together," the Belarusian Head of State is confident. Alexander Lukashenko noted that special attention is paid to the development of the Olympic movement and high-performance sport in Belarus. According to him, future champions are nurtured in the country from a young age. There are 430 children's and youth sports schools and 12 Olympic reserve schools in operation. Representatives of 49 national teams hone their skills in 38 Olympic training centres. Sovereign Belarus has won 14 gold, 28 silver, and 48 bronze Olympic medals. The President noted that over 20 years of independence, more sports facilities have been built in the country than during the entire period of its membership in the USSR. Over 50 world-class facilities have been commissioned in the last two Olympic cycles alone. Belarus has repeatedly hosted the most prestigious international competitions and won the right to host the 2014 World Hockey Championship. Speaking about the support for the Olympic movement, Alexander Lukashenko touched upon another relevant issue – the interaction between government bodies and national Olympic committees. According to him, this topic has been raised more than once and will become the main focus at the next year's General Assembly of the Association of National Olympic Committees.

In the President's opinion, Belarus can serve as an example of constructive cooperation between the state and the sports community in this area. Alexander Lukashenko noted that the heads of Belarusian sports associations are mostly government members, people with significant administrative resources and capable of solving many issues for sports. In the head of state's opinion, this has a positive effect. Alexander Lukashenko said that if the EOC is interested in such experience and is ready to be convinced of the effectiveness of this state-public partnership, Belarus is ready to host an international forum, a conference, and discuss this topic and other issues at a time convenient for them. The President, addressing the participants of the meeting, emphasized that for Belarus their visit is not only a great honor but also a sign of international recognition of our country's contribution to the development of the best traditions of European and world sports. He stressed that Belarus will continue to act in this vein. "In modern Belarus, I think you have already had a chance to see this, there is a real cult of health and physical perfection, which are among the main priorities of our state policy. Physical education and sports are not the domain of the chosen few, but a mass, truly popular cause, accessible and encouraged by the state," said the President. In 5 years, a quarter of our population will be involved in sports. "Belarusians are rightly called a sporting nation, and we are doing everything for this and will continue to do so," added the head of state. Alexander Lukashenko invited the participants of the meeting to visit the country's sports facilities, talk to athletes and coaches informally, walk through the streets of Minsk, other cities and villages, and communicate with people. "I want you to leave Belarus having seen the true face of the Belarusian people and our state," said the Belarusian leader. Before the meeting, the participants observed a minute of silence in memory of the members of the Russian ice hockey club "Lokomotiv" who died in a plane crash in the Yaroslavl region. "Unfortunately, the sports world suffered an irreparable loss yesterday," said Alexander Lukashenko. "These are our brothers, and we mourn the victims of this tragedy, among whom were Belarusians – outstanding masters of the great game." -0-

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