(MENAFN- The Peninsula) The FIA Sport Regional Congress - Middle East and North Africa (MENA) kicked off in Kuwait yesterday.
FIA President Jean Todt, FIA Vice-president Nasser bin Khalifa Al Attiyah, FIA Deputy President for Sport Graham Stoker and the CEO of the Kuwait International Automobile Club, Essa Hamza, were present at the launch of the event, being held under the patronage of Kuwait's Minister of Information and State minister for Youth Affairs and Sports H E Sheikh Salman Al Hmoud. Around 70 attendees, representing 19 member states from the MENA region, are also attending the meeting.
FIA President Jean Todt said: "It is a great pleasure to visit Kuwait for the second time. As you know, I have been travelling a lot in the MENA region, which is a very important part of our organization."
President of the Qatar Motor and Motor Cycle Federation (QMMF) and FIA Vice-President Nasser bin Khalifa Al Attiyah speaks at the meeting yesterday .
"What has been done over the last decade in motor sport in the region is absolutely fantastic. I can say that all this is the result of your contributions, as you worked very closely with the FIA," Todt said in his opening speech yesterday.
He pointed out as well that members from the FIA Development Department had come from Geneva to help the participants address all the questions they might have.
FIA Deputy President for Sport Graham Stoker underscored the fact that a strong sport needs strong clubs. He said the FIA was strong enough to deliver and announced a comprehensive development programme for the region.
"Over the next two days, we have a new training programme. We have got a taskforce which will work over the course of the year to address your problems and support you. We have certain events during this year: a mid-year sports conference and a forum towards the end of the year where club issues will be discussed. And now, we have a comprehensive grant program which involves the distribution of billions of Euros of support to you, so you can grow your sport"So, for the first time in 2015, the FIA steps up to develop this sport. I think it is an exciting year and it is a great pleasure to start from here, among our friends in the MENA region and Kuwait," Stoker said.
Regarding the situation in the MENA region after the appointment of Al Attiyah as FIA Vice-President, Stoker said: "What is exciting about the region is that there are strong examples in motor sport, but it is still growing. When I look around the world at other areas, at the challenges in Africa and the well-establish sports in Europe, I see the MENA region as the place where the lessons are to be learned for development. It is very exciting. And there is a great enthusiasm in the region."
He asserted that motor sport was engaging young people and women and using green sustainable engines and new technologies, while pointing to the existence of a whole range of issues showing that this is a leading sport.
The MENA Coordinator of the FIA, Imad Lahoud, declared: "We need to keep pace with the developments that are taking place in motor sport around the world to prove that our region is no longer forgotten. On the contrary, it is strongly present on the world motor sport map".
The Coordinator of FIA Drag Racing Commission in the MENA region, Sheikh Mohammad Al Khaled Al Sabah, thanked all the participants for trusting him with carrying out a mission with a special agenda, considering the great popularity of this sport in the Gulf Region. "I will spare no effort to promote this sport and expand its reach to the region of North Africa, as part of the MENA region, by establishing a direct contact with the heads of motor sport federations and clubs."
He also emphasised that he was convinced that the Congress would be successful, especially with the participation of 19 countries and the great support of FIA President and Vice-President.
With regards to women's involvement in motor sport, Marielou Cruz, the FIA Marketing Coordinator and Deputy of FIA Vice-President in the MENA, said: "It is a great pleasure to be part of the MENA region and we are really pushing to ensure that women are involved in motor sport. For this purpose, we have a big surprise in the future, probably in October. We will organise a women's training camp in Qatar where all female drivers and co-drivers will be invited, along with Michèle Mouton, Jutta Kleinschmidt and Fabrizia Pons. We are looking forward to that."
FrédériqueTrouvé, the Deputy Director of the FIA Development Department and the FIA Women Commission Manager, said: "We started last year with a seminar organised upon the initiative of Mr Al Attiyah in Qatar. It was the first women's seminar in the Middle East. We were very proud to support it, because it is an incredible initiative by Mr Al Attiyah. We are here for a three-day congress with an unexpected participation. We have 19 countries represented out of 20 and around 60 delegates".
"We will be celebrating International Women's Day on Sunday. I was behind the creation of the FIA Women Motor Sport Commission. I submitted the project to Jean Todt. We are pushing hard for this and we are receiving a big support from the MENA region," she said.
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