NADA Signs MoU with South Asia Regional Anti- Doping Organization

New Delhi(PIB): National AntiDoping Agency (NADA) India on Monday signed an MoU with South Asia Regional AntiDoping Organization (SARADO), comprising of AntiDoping Organizations of Bangladesh, Bhutan, Maldives, Nepal and Sri Lanka, at the NADA India – SARADO Cooperation Meet here, in the presence of Union Minister of Youth Affairs & Sports and Information & Broadcasting, Anurag Thakur, Sujata Chaturvedi, Secretary (Sports), Union Ministry of Youth Affairs & Sports, SARADO Secretariat & Member Country Representatives. The MoU aims to increase the Regional Cooperation in anti doping in sport, an official sources said. Speaking on the occasion Thakur highlighted India’s increasing participation and achievements in the international sporting arena and its eagerness to shoulder responsibility in promoting clean sport efforts and contribute to global anti-doping movement. Thakur said, “Narendra Modi has envisioned India to become a sporting powerhouse in the coming years.The Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports is committed to transforming this dream into a reality and is working relentlessly to improve Indian athletes’ sports performance at the national and international level.” He said, “Our increasing focus on high quality training, accessible and improved sporting infrastructure, increasing opportunities for all sports through competitions and training camps and mainstreaming efforts to promote gender equality in sports clearly reflect India’s intent and ambition to contribute to sports development globally”. Thakur said that India is acting as a bridge to address the gap between the global north and global south and create opportunities for economic as well as social growth for our friends in the Asian region. He further added that India’s increasing contributions to the World Anti Doping Agency and UNESCO International Convention Against Doping in Sport reflects India’s willingness and strong intent to be involved in furthering the anti-doping movement globally and continuously commit to strengthening anti-doping initiatives. He highlighted that as India currently holds the G20 Presidency, India is focusing on voicing the Asian region’s concerns and perspectives to the world. He underlined the importance of regional partnerships that will help the region evolve and emerge with an empowered approach to development of sports sector, amongst other areas of cooperation.

He concluded by congratulating NADA India and SARADO for this first of its kind MoU for India in the anti-doping domain and invited members from the region to collaborate in other focus areas in sports development and take regional cooperation in the Asian region to new heights. Union Minister urged the member countries of SARADO to come together and work together to take up anti doping measures in the field of sport on a war footing. Ritu Sain, Director General & CEO, NADA India and Mohamed Mahid Shareef, Director General, SARADO signed the MoU on behalf of their organizations. Sujata Chaturvedi, Secretary (Sports), Union Ministry of Youth Affairs & Sports, Kazuhiro Hayashi, Director, Asia/Oceania Office, WADA, Ritu Sain, Director General & CEO, NADA India and Mohamed Mahid Shareef, Director General, SARADO also addressed the gathering. The inaugural session was followed by the 1st Project Plan Meeting between members of NADA India and SARADO where theobjective of developing an antidoping education plan for South Asian region was discussed. The NADA India team presented an overview of the project plan, areas of cooperation, implementation strategy, mechanisms for monitoring outcomes and NADA India’s antidoping education initiatives and resources. The Member Country Representatives of Bangladesh, Bhutan, Maldives, Nepal and Sri Lanka also presented an overview of anti-doping in their countries.

About Post Author