Gayibov revealed that he had put forward the idea to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) Secretariat after Baku staged the gathering of Sports Ministers last week.

It was the seventh edition of the UNESCO Global Sports Conference - MINEPS - but the first since Russian city Kazan played host in 2017.

Other hosts include Paris in 1976, Moscow in 1988, Punta del Este in 1999, Athens in 2004 and Berlin in 2013.

But Gayibov believes that the event needs to be held annually or at least biennially to help strengthen communication between Sports Ministers from across the world.

"I proposed at the end of the session to push the UNESCO Secretariat to have it more often because this is a very good platform," said Gayibov.

"I met colleagues from many different countries which was really interesting.

"We had many interesting projects and we shared what we are doing in our countries.

"But if we wait for another seven years to meet, probably it will be different Ministers then so I think it should be every year if possible.

"If not, then once every two years and maybe in different countries but this is another question.

"It might be difficult for UNESCO to find a host so there are issues sometimes but I think it will be fantastic for us Ministers to find a platform where we can meet.

"I can meet European Ministers on different platforms… but there were Ministers from Africa and Latin America here and I think that this should continue a minimum of once every two years."

The MINEPS VII saw the adoption of the Fit for Life Alliance - a programme that aims to accelerate the recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic by improving the wellbeing of young people around the world.

Fit for Life is framed as a solution to help tackle crises in physical inactivity, mental health and inequality in the world of sport that have been exacerbated by the pandemic.

Increasing grassroots participation in sport and reducing inactivity, supporting the development of inclusive sport policies and empowering young people are among five objectives set out by UNESCO’s social and human sciences programme.

Gabriela Ramos, UNESCO's assistant director general for social and human science, welcomed the chance to stage MINEPS more regularly.

"Maybe next time we will be in Paris in the context of the Olympics so that might be a good setting," said Ramos.

"The whole continent of Africa said they want to organise a MINEPS for Africa.

"I don’t know if that’s next year or 2025 but they said it.

"We are super excited.

"Why don’t we do it every year so we can walk the talk and every year give results?"