President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih and First Lady Fazna Ahmed, on Friday, attended the opening ceremony of the 10th Indian Ocean Island Games (IOIG) held at Port Louis, Mauritius.
The Mauritanian Government invited President Solih and the first lady Fazna to officially visit the country.
Held every four years, the IOIG invites athletes hailing from Indian Ocean islands to compete for medals across 14 varied sports disciplines.
The IOIG aims to promote regional cooperation via sports, increase mutual understanding between the island-nations of the Indian Ocean and continue the best traditions of sporting diplomacy.
Maldives is a founding member of the IOIG and won its first international sporting award at the inaugural edition of the games held in 1979.
Several Maldivian athletes will compete for similar successes at the ongoing IOIG.
Maldives is currently in the process of garnering support for its bid to host the 11th edition of the IOIG which is scheduled for 2023. The next host will be announced at the closing ceremony of the ongoing games.
The President and First Lady will attend several of the games as a show of encouragement to Maldivian athletes participating in the 2019 IOIG.
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