Sheikh Joaan currently serves as ANOC’s Senior Vice President in addition to heading the Qatar Olympic Committee.
Qatar Olympic Committee President Sheikh Joaan bin Hamad Al Thani has visited Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan as part of his tour across Central Asia, which aims to promote the Olympic movement in the region.
Sheikh Joaan, also the First Vice President of the Association of National Olympic Committees (ANOC), was accompanied by World Aquatics President and Asian Olympic Council’s Director General Husain Al-Musallam and Vice President Dr. Thani bin Abdulrahman Al-Kuwari.
The visits are being done “in support of the Olympic movement and strengthening cooperation with national Olympic committees, as part of a future vision for developing sports in the region,” the QOC said on Tuesday.
In the capital of Bishkek, Sheikh Joaan met the Kyrgyzstan Olympic Committee President and other senior sports officials. The meetings were also attended by various representatives of the sport of Alysh, a Central Asian folk wrestling, often credited to ancient Kyrgyzstan.
Kyrgyzstan’s President Sadyr Japarov then met Sheikh Joaan on April 28. The two discussed leveraging Qatar’s experience of organising major sporting events, among other topics, according to Kyrgyz news site 24.kg.
After concluding the Kyrgyz leg of his visit, the QOC president was then received by Uzbekistan’s Minister of Sports, Secretary General and the Vice President of the National Olympic Committee, among others, in Tashkent.
Sheikh Joaan then visited the Uzbekistan National Olympic Committee’s headquarters and held discussions regarding the country’s progress in the Olympic Games and the supporting infrastructure.
He then met the President of Uzbekistan, Shavkat Mirziyoyev, the following day, discussing ways to enhance bilateral cooperation as well as strengthening the partnership between ANOC and Uzbekistan.
“They discussed enhancing sports cooperation, supporting the Olympic movement, and fostering professional and mass sports,” President Mirziyoyev’s press service posted on X after the meeting.
Sheikh Joaan was elected as the Senior Vice President of the ANOC during its General Assembly held in Seoul, South Korea, in 2022. He was nominated for the role by the Olympic Council of Asia.
“ANOC has a key role to play in facilitating the sharing of knowledge and resources among NOCs and providing support for NOCs so you can best serve your athletes and communities,” he had said after the election.
Founded in 1979, the ANOC currently affiliates 206 National Olympic Committees inder the International Olympic Committee to manage general affairs as well as offer support and recommendations for development.
