It is a great honor for Kuzbass to be the organizer of the 10th Anniversary International Forum “Russia – Country of Sports”. We deserved this right: at the end of 2021, Kuzbass was considered as the best sports region in the Russian Federation. We would like to show to all guests and participants our approach to sports organizational process. It is based on the Russian and Soviet training systems — from outdoor sports grounds to classes in year-round sports complexes and to the creation of specialized multifunctional sports centers that are built using new technologies. Gyms, swimming pools, fitness rooms, hotels, cafes are integrated in such centers. Such a system allows athletes to train and enter the arena to participate in competitions in various sports at the same time.

Said Sergey Tsivilev.

Aide to the President of Russia Igor Levitin has given the speech to the participants.

I want to thank my colleagues from the EAEU countries for coming and being able to see how infrastructure is developing in Russia. Kuzbass is a mining capital, but according to what we see, the sports capital, at least of Siberia, will soon move here: 24 Olympic and 21 non-Olympic sports objects are located there under one roof — this is probably cannot found anywhere else in the world. Now the world is changing, moving towards multipolarity, but our common goal is to make sure that sport remains united. Russian President Vladimir Putin said that no matter what restrictions are imposed on athletes for visa or other reasons, we are open and we will not forbid anyone to come to Russia.

Igor Levitin emphasized.

The Minister of Sports of Russia Oleg Matytsin spoke about the main goals of the work at the Forum.

We must build relations in such a way that the international community sees that we have not weakened during the period of sanctions, on the contrary, we have once again assessed our potential and look confidently into the future. Our countries are self-sufficient, we have enormous potential. Today we are in Kemerovo, in the Kuzbass Ice Palace. This once again shows that the strength and potential of the regions and of our countries make the implementation of any plans a reality, especially when we support each other. We are ready to share experience, invite friends. Our task is to find new ways, mechanisms for the participation of our countries in competitions, such as "Children of Asia.

Oleg Matytsin said.

Also, participants of the session were: Deputy Minister of Economic Development of the Russian Federation Dmitry Volvach (in the format of the videoconferencing), Minister of Sports of the Republic of Belarus Sergei Kovalchuk, Secretary General of the Eurasian Peoples' Assembly Andrey Belyaninov (in the format of the videoconferencing), Director for Science, Technology, Innovation and Environment of the National Institute Sports, Physical Education and Recreation of the Republic of Cuba Aviles Melix Ilisastigui, Honorary President of the National Olympic Committee of the Republic of Armenia Derenik Gabrielyan, Director of the Sports Directorate of the National Olympic Committee of the Republic of Kazakhstan Ilsiyar Kanagatov, Head of the International Relations Department of the Russian Olympic Committee Alexei Slautin, Executive Director of the Student Basketball Association Sergey Kryukov, Head of RANEPA partnership programs Artem Dyakonov and others.

During the strategic session, the participants discussed the prospects for expanding the sports cooperation of the Union, holding joint sports events in an open format, building up interaction between sports universities of the Union Member States, the emergence of new opportunities for interaction between sports subjects in the field of public-private partnerships, import substitution and investment development.