 | President Barzani's speech at the opening of the International Sports Conference
May I very warmly welcome our guests, especially those of you who have joined us from abroad to participate in this conference. I wish you a very pleasant visit to Erbil, the capital of the Kurdistan Region. I am delighted to be with you today and I applaud the Ministry of Youth and Sports for arranging this international conference, the first to be held in Erbil following the conference in Cardiff, Wales in 2008.
Sport opens doors for individuals and nations to build friendships, get to know each other and show their talents and abilities. Sport provides an opportunity for every individual to be healthy, compete and develop bonds, all of which are vital to humankind. The participants in this conference have a wealth of experience from which we hope to benefit, while by being here they can see for themselves the current status of sport in the Kurdistan Region.
I would like to let you know that I like sports very much; I cannot claim to be a sportsman, but what I can tell you is that the daily life of a Peshmerga is very sporting and active. When I was a student and afterwards, I used to love playing football and continued to play until a few years ago. But my problem now is that people of my age do not play football, and I do not have many opportunities to go out with younger people. I have walked from areas near Zakho all the way to Penjwin on foot and seen every village and mountain in Kurdistan. And I do at least one hour of exercise in the morning every day.
I ask the Kurdistan Regional Government to pay greater attention to sport and sports people, and ensure that the needs of boys and girls are met. Girls must also be encouraged to be interested in sport because it is necessary for both men and women. Once again, I welcome you all very warmly and wish you a successful conference. May I take this opportunity to say to the people of the Kurdistan Region that, God willing, we will announce the date of the Kurdistan elections in the next few days in Parliament, and I will keep the political discussions for that day. Thank you. | |
