As part of their ongoing visit to the Republic of Mauritius on the invitation of the Mauritian Government, His Excellency, President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih and First Lady Fazna Ahmed have attended the opening ceremony of the10th Indian Ocean Island Games, held this evening at Port Louis, Mauritius.
This multi-sports event is held every four years and invites sportsmen and sportswomen from Indian Ocean islands to compete for medals across 14 different sports disciplines.
The inaugural edition of the IOIG, of which the Maldives is a founding member, was held in 1979. The objectives of the Games are to contribute to regional cooperation through sport, and to build friendship and mutual understanding between the island-nations of the Indian Ocean, continuing the best traditions of sporting diplomacy.
The Maldives won its first international medal in an international sporting event at the first ever IOIG, 40 years ago. Many of our athletes representing multiple sporting fields will be competing for similar successes this year.
The Maldives is seeking to host the 11th edition of the IOIG due to be held in 2023. The results of the voting for the next host will be announced at the closing ceremony of the current games.
The President and First Lady will attend several of the games to be held in the upcoming days, to offer encouragement and support to our wonderful athletes.
