Shillong, Jul 20: The Consul General of France in Kolkata, Thierry Morel, held a meeting with John F Kharshiing, Working President of the Meghalaya State Olympic Association (MSOA), today morning in Kolkata.
The meeting focused on strengthening cooperation between France and Meghalaya in the areas of culture, with particular emphasis on sports development. Both sides discussed opportunities to build on the existing goodwill and explore long-term collaboration through athlete, coach and technical exchange programmes in selected priority sports identified by Meghalaya.
During the discussions, Kharshiing recalled the successful football exchange programme undertaken by Meghalaya with a football club in Lyon, France, which had provided valuable exposure and learning opportunities for young footballers. Both sides expressed interest in expanding similar collaborations to other sports disciplines.
India and France maintain a bilateral partnership in the field of sports, formally institutionalised through a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the Union Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports and the French Ministry of Sports. The MoU provides a strong framework for cooperation in areas such as athlete and coach exchanges, sports science, sports medicine, training, capacity building, sports infrastructure and the sharing of technical expertise.
Both sides agreed that Meghalaya could actively explore opportunities under this bilateral framework to promote sports excellence and international cooperation, a press release from Kharshiing’s office stated today.
The discussions further explored the possibility of facilitating training programmes, coaching exchanges, technical expertise, sports science support and institutional partnerships that would contribute to the continued growth of sports in Meghalaya. Both parties agreed to continue discussions and work towards identifying mutually beneficial areas of cooperation in the coming months.
Kharshiing also extended a formal invitation to Morel, the newly appointed Consul General of France in Kolkata, to visit Shillong at a mutually convenient time to further strengthen ties and explore avenues for cooperation.
