With the cooperation between Somali National Olympic committee and the ministry for youth and sport strengthening, high level officials from both institutions paid hours-long visit to some key sporting facilities in the capital Mogadishu on Wednesday.

The visited facilities include: the compound of the ministry of sport, long tennis court, basketball stadium, table tennis stadium, compounds that used to house national sporting federations and other sites.

According to Somali NOC president Duran Ahmed Farah, the joint visit was mainly intended to assess the general situations of the country’s devastated facilities and how Somali NOC and the ministry of sport can cooperate on the rebuilding of the destroyed facilities.

At the end of the visit Somali NOC and the ministry of sport officials held a joint press conference during which the minister Mahmoud Jirde Hussein announced that a joint committee from both sides will be formed to look for local and international support to help the construction of the country’s destroyed sports facilities.

Director General for Somali youth and sports ministry Aweys Sheik Hadaad told the press conference that the joint visit was a clear signal for the better relations between the ministry of sport and Somali National Olympic committee.

President of Somali National Olympic committee Duran Ahmed Farah added that some key sporting facilities were visited and both Somali NOC and the ministry of sport are committed to finding the destroyed facilities repaired.

“Taking advantage from the current stability in the country we have to rebuild our sporting facilities with the help from Somalis themselves and the outside world” the Somali NOC president noted.

“Sport is very important for peace and development in the country and that is why we want to rebuild our facilities to give the current generation a chance to play sport as more as they can in a bid to prevent them from taking up arms or falling into other kinds of crimes” president Duran Ahmed Farah added.

For his part the minister for youth and sports Mahmoud Jirde Hussein stated that he was very happy with the bilateral relationship between his ministry and Somali National Olympic committee.

“If there was misunderstanding between the ministry and Somali NOC before–now we are together and we pledge to work together on the development of Somali sport and we will form a joint committee who will work on the rebuilding of our destroyed facilities” he said calling on the local business companies and the countries interested in Somalia to play a key role in this attempt.

“Somali National Olympic committee and its affiliated federations are praise worthy for the role they have played in the promotion of sport in the war-ravaged country for the past two decades” said the recently appointed minister.

Since the appointment of the minister in mid April this year, there have been growing co-operations between the ministry of sport and the national Olympic committee of Somalia.