Farid Gayibov, Azerbaijan's Minister of Youth and Sports, left, recently met IOC President Thomas Bach in Lausanne to discuss the future of the Olympic Movement ©Azernews

Farid Gayibov, Azerbaijan's Minister of Youth and Sports, has met President of the International Olympic Committee Thomas Bach in Lausanne, to discuss the Olympic Movement.

The Minister spoke about the work carried out for the development of sports in Azerbaijan and international competitions which are held in the country, Azernews reports.

Earlier this month Bach welcomed the Baku Declaration by the Non-Aligned Movement, chaired by Azerbaijan, which unites 120 of the 193 United Nations member states.

The Declaration, which was passed unanimously, emphasised that "the participation of athletes from all 206 National Olympic Committees in Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games would be a strong symbol of unity of humanity."

"The IOC warmly welcomes the support by the 120 member states of the Non-Aligned Movement," Bach said.

"We are greatly encouraged by this strong commitment to the unifying mission of the Olympic Games.

Azerbaijan President Ilham Aliyev has been thanked by IOC President Thomas Bach for prompting the recent Baku Declaration by the Non-Aligned Movement, which supported the inclusion of all 206 NOCs - including Russia and Belarus - at the Paris 2024 Olympics ©Getty Images
Azerbaijan President Ilham Aliyev has been thanked by IOC President Thomas Bach for prompting the recent Baku Declaration by the Non-Aligned Movement, which supported the inclusion of all 206 NOCs - including Russia and Belarus - at the Paris 2024 Olympics ©Getty Images

"Thank you to the President of Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliyev, for taking the initiative for this important resolution."

Russian and Belarusian athletes competed as neutrals at the World Taekwondo Championships in Baku which concluded last month.

The head of the Azerbaijan sports department Elnur Mammadov, and the adviser to the President of the Azerbaijan Boxing Federation Samir Huseynov, also participated in the meeting.

The Azerbaijan National Olympic Committee has worked transformatively since 1992 to develop sports in the country.

Under President Ilham Aliyev, who has headed the National Olympic Committee since 1997, Azerbaijan has witnessed a rapid development of the Olympic Movement.

Major sports events hosted by Azerbaijan in recent years include the the first European Games in 2015, the Islamic Solidarity Games in 2017 and the European Youth Olympic Festival in 2019.