Sri Lanka and Russia's National Olympic Committees have signed a Memorandum of Understanding ©National Olympic Committee of Sri Lanka

The National Olympic Committee of Sri Lanka has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Russian Olympic Committee (ROC), which they hope will help them with sports development and scientific research.

Secretary general of the National Olympic Committee of Sri Lanka Maxwell de Silva met with met with his counterpart at the ROC Anastasia Davydova, a five-time Olympic synchronised swimming gold medallist, to sign the agreement during the Association of National Olympic Committees (ANOC) General Assembly here in Washington.

Having signed the MoU, Sri Lanka are set to receive support from the ROC for sports development and scientific research into sport, as well as co-operation on elite athlete development.

Additionally the MoU also included the idea of a cultural exchange between the two nations and De Silva believes the signing of the agreement is crucial to developing his NOC.

“It is a historic day in signing an MOU with sports giant Russia,” he told insidethegames.

“Sri Lanka and Russia enjoy a very close political relationship and we consider Russian NOC as our strategic partner in our pursuit of sporting development in Sri Lanka.

“We are thankful to the Russian NOC President and their able Olympian secretary general Anastasia for making this happen.

“We are certain that the both countries will benefit from this new chapter in our history and we will always remember Russia for their assistance.”

The agreement was signed during the ANOC General Assembly in Washington
The agreement was signed during the ANOC General Assembly in Washington ©Getty Images

It is the latest deal secured by Sri Lanka after they secured a bilateral cooperation agreement with the Chinese Taipei Olympic Committee (CTOC) in June, which would see them receive equipment donations.

The agreements single Sri Lanka’s aim to improve its sporting infrastructure in the country, having been stripped of the 2017 Asian Youth Games in May as a result of a lack of organisation and coordination between the NOC and Government forces.

They also face being banned from the IOC if relations between these two bodies do not improve.



Related stories
June 2015: Equipment donated following agreement between Chinese Taipei and Sri Lankan National Olympic Committees
May 2015: Sri Lanka have 2017 Asian Youth Games taken away as Jakarta lined-up as replacement
September 2014: Colombo to replace Hambantota as host city for 2017 Asian Youth Games
September 2014: Sri Lanka set to keep 2017 Asian Youth Games after giving reassurances to Sheikh Ahmad
June 2014: Sri Lanka propose new plans for 2017 Asian Youth Games