BAKU, Azerbaijan, July 13. On July 13, Yalchin Rafiyev, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Azerbaijan, met with Ilgar Rahimov, President of the International Blind Sports Federation (IBSA).
This was reported by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Azerbaijan.
According to the ministry, the meeting focused on prospects for cooperation between the Azerbaijan International Development Agency (AIDA) and IBSA, the implementation of joint initiatives within the framework of international development cooperation, support for sports development programs for the blind and visually impaired, as well as ways to expand international partnerships in this area.
Yalchin Rafiyev noted that AIDA, as an official agency of the Republic of Azerbaijan operating in the field of international development cooperation, implements multidisciplinary projects in partner countries aimed at capacity building, human capital development, and facilitating the exchange of knowledge and experience. He also emphasized that initiatives aimed at expanding opportunities for the blind and visually impaired in the field of sports align with AIDA’s priorities in the area of international development cooperation.
Following the meeting between AIDA and IBSA, a Memorandum of Understanding on international development cooperation was signed.
Meanwhile, the International Blind Sports Federation (IBSA) is a non-profit organization founded in 1981 in Paris that governs and develops sports for people with visual impairments worldwide. Representing over 100 member nations, it operates as the international federation for nine sports, including the Paralympic events of goalball, judo, and blind football. IBSA is a founding member of the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) and plays a key role in advocating for the inclusion of visually impaired sports on the Paralympic programme. In addition to the three Paralympic sports, IBSA governs several other disciplines, including showdown, powerlifting, nine- and tenpin bowling, chess, and torball.
