IOC President concludes visit to Jordan, Palestine and Israel

Beginning in the Jordanian capital, Amman, the President met various NOC members including Prince Feisal Al Hussein, NOC President and IOC member, and was received by King Abdullah the Second. The President and his delegation flew to Ramallah in the West Bank, where they visited a refugee camp before meeting the President of the Palestinian Olympic Committee, Jibril Rajoub, and the Palestinian Prime Minister, Salam Fayyad.

In the evening they attended a football match between the Palestinian and Jordanian Olympic teams, which Palestine won 2-0.

In Israel, the IOC President held “very constructive” talks with the Israeli President, Shimon Peres. A number of issues were raised during their meeting, including concerns over the free movement of Palestinian athletes and officials. Mr Peres offered his constructive cooperation to find solutions.

The delegation also met with members of the Israeli NOC, including its President, Zvi Varshaviak. Since the meetings, the IOC has announced that representatives of the Palestinian and Israeli NOCs will meet in Lausanne later this year to tackle the issue under the leadership of the IOC.

And following a telephone conversation between the IOC President and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, it has been agreed that the Prime Minister will be kept updated on the discussions.

The President was heading a delegation which included IOC Vice-President Mario Pescante and IOC members Patrick Hickey, President of the European Olympic Committees (EOC); Sheik Ahmad Al-Fahad Al-Sabah, President of the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA); Olympic champions Nawal El Moutawakel and Hicham El Guerrouj; and Alex Gilady.