Brasil’s Ministry of Sports concludes first meeting cycle of BRICS Working Group
Brasil leads elaboration of memorandum to expand sports cooperation among bloc countries.
From Communications Office – Ministry of Sports of Brasil
This Thursday, May 8, Brasil’s Ministry of Sports closed the first cycle of online meetings of the BRICS Sports Working Group. The meetings initiated on Wednesday, May 7, focused on the elaboration of a memorandum of understanding that aims to establish a solid foundation for sports cooperation among the bloc’s member countries.
The main goal of the initiative is to strengthen sports cooperation within BRICS, promoting development through sports and physical activity. The strategic proposal is to institutionalize this cooperation among the member countries, including the six new additions to the bloc (Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, Indonesia, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates) and serve as the basis to build concrete guidelines that can bring more cohesion and representativeness to BRICS in the field of sports.
During the first two days of the meeting, Brasil presented the initial draft of the memorandum, which substitutes the version previously signed. The updated version will go through revisions and adaptations to contemplate the contributions of the new members.
“These two days were dedicated to presenting the initial draft and compiling suggestions. We will still have four more meetings before finalizing the document, which will be presented and signed during the BRICS ministers of sports meeting, scheduled for early June,” explained Fábio Araújo, the Brazilian National Secretary for Parathletics of the Ministry of Sports, who is responsible for negotiating the sports agenda within BRICS.
Among the topics covered in the memorandum are the implementation of multilateral sports projects, the promotion of traditional sports, the sharing of research, data, and technologies in the sports field, the creation of technical cooperation mechanisms, joint conferences and training sessions, among other matters.
“We are also going to discuss integrity and the inclusion of persons with disabilities in sports practices within BRICS. We know that sports are a theme of interest to all bloc countries, and the document will serve as the basis to build other specific agreements in the area of sports,” added Araújo.
The next round of meetings of the working group is scheduled for May 22-23, 2025.