The President of the International Olympic Committee, Dr. Thomas Bach, conducted an official two-day visit to the kingdom, where he met with HRH Prince Abdulaziz bin Turki Al Faisal and attended various events of the Saudi Games, the country's most significant sports event.

Afterwards, he acknowledged the impressive development that the Arab country is making in sports in general: "The development of sports in Saudi Arabia is extremely impressive. I don't think I've seen such a rapid transformation of sports in any other country. You can see how participation is increasing, and the development of elite sports."

Additionally, Dr. Bach pointed out that the significant development included the increased participation of women in sports and also in leadership positions within the sports movement. "That's why we feel at home because, in our Olympic agenda, we are trying to drive the same transformation," said the German, who had dismissed Saudi Arabia as a possible organizer of the Olympic Games eight years ago due to profound gender inequalities or discrimination against women (at that time, there were rumors of intentions to hold a joint Olympic Games with Bahrain, separating men and women, with women competing in the neighboring country.

Among the attendees of the official visit by the IOC President since 2013 (when he was elected in Buenos Aires for 8 years and re-elected years later in Tokyo) were HRH Al-Faisal, who welcomed Dr. Bach in the Saudi capital, Riyadh. Also present were Prince Fahad bin Jalawi Al Saud, Vice President of SOPC, HRH Princess Dilayl bint Nahar, Deputy Director of the Saudi Games, and Abdulaziz Baashen, CEO, and Secretary-General of SOPC.

The official visit included meetings and discussions between HRH Alfaisal and Dr. Bach. They addressed topics such as the significant role the Kingdom plays on the global sports stage, thanks to Vision 2030 and its ambitious goals, especially in organizing major sports events such as the Asian Indoor and Martial Arts Games in 2025, the Asian Winter Games in Trojena in 2029, and the Asian Games in Riyadh in 2034.

After the meeting, HRH Alfaisal and Dr. Bach attended various events of the 2023 Saudi Games, including the finals of beach volleyball and tennis. They also toured the "Fan Zone" area at the Prince Faisal bin Fahd Olympic Complex in Riyadh.

It is worth mentioning that this visit is the third by the IOC President since he took office ten years ago, marking how relations have improved to the point of being stronger than ever in contributing to the development of sports worldwide.