Male, Maldives, September 6, 2016: The Indian High Commission in the Maldives has pledged its full support for the Maldives Olympic Committee’s "Partners for MV Sports" development programme. Mr. Akhilesh Mishra, Indian High Commissioner appointed to the Maldives, strongly supports the initiative taken by the Maldives Olympic Committee towards the development of sport in the Maldives.

As a means to support the programme, Mishra stated on Tuesday that he would do everything in his power to make the programme a success to the benefit of local athletes.

In his statement, Mishra said he observed the performance of Maldivian athletes at the South Asian Games held in Guwahati, India, earlier this year. As such, Mishra said he was more than willing to communicate with the respective high performance centres in India to assist in the placement of Maldivian athletes for training.

With the average age of the Maldives population at 35 years, he noted that sport plays a vital role in the development of Maldives. In order to contribute to the development of sport in the Maldives, Mishra said he would fully support the "Partners for MV Sports" programme introduced by Maldives NOC, which was represented by Secretary General Ahmed Marzooq.