President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi has given the green-light to Egyptian sports authorities to make a bid to host the 2036 Olympic Games.
Al-Sisi met earlier on Saturday with President of the International Olympic Committee Thomas Bach and Minister of Youth and Sports Ashraf Sobhy.
President of the Association of National Olympic Committees of Africa Mustapha Berraf, President of the International Handball Federation Hassan Mostafa, and President of the Egyptian Olympic Committee Hisham Abu Hatab, also attended the meeting.
President Al-Sisi welcomed the visit of the President of the International Olympic Committee to Egypt, praising the important role of the Committee in promoting interest in sports at the international level.
He highlighted Egypt’s efforts to develop and modernize the sports infrastructure nationwide, and the construction of the Egyptian City for Olympic Games in the New Administrative Capital, in addition to what has been done to raise the efficiency of international airports and the transport and communications network. The recent sports infrastructure qualifies Egypt to host major regional and world championships in various games, he added.
On his part, Bach expressed his honour to meet the Egyptian President, praising the historic role of Egypt as one of the leading African and Arab countries in various team and individual sports.
He also expressed his great admiration for the sports infrastructure that Egypt has developed recently, which enabled it to organize many international sporting events recently, especially the 2021 World Handball Championship, despite the challenges of the Coronavirus pandemic.
The meeting witnessed a discussion of prospects for cooperation between the two sides in Egypt’s hosting of major international sporting events, where the President affirmed Egypt’s readiness to provide various means of support in this regard.
Bach indicated his full confidence in Egypt’s capabilities to host world events, noting that the Egyptian International Olympic City in the New Administrative Capital is one of the most important sports arenas in the Middle East, with its stadiums and covered halls equipped for various individual and team games, in addition to service, medical, and hotel facilities.