On the eve of the meeting, the President of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) Vitold Banki, Director General of this organization Olivier Nigli and Director of the National Anti-Doping Agency of Azerbaijan (AMADA) Shafag Huseynli took place.
The participants of the meeting, which took place in the format of a video conference, discussed the work done to achieve the goals set out in the WADA Strategic Plan for 2020-2024. The importance of cooperation with National Anti-Doping Organizations and other partners was also emphasized.
The Director of AMADA informed the meeting participants about the anti-doping situation in Azerbaijan, the latest developments in this area, the work done to implement the Anti-Doping Code, and the projects being implemented by AMADA.
Vitold Banka especially noted the effective fight against doping in our country.
“With the creation of AMADA, the fight against doping in Azerbaijan has intensified significantly,” the WADA president said. “AMADA is an important and reliable partner for the World Anti-Doping Agency. We are interested in innovative projects that AMADA is currently implementing.”
The leadership of the World Anti-Doping Agency has highlighted such projects as blockchain technologies in anti-doping, crowdsoursing in the field of science. Azerbaijan introduced these projects for the first time in the world.
Banka also noted the AMADA approach to management and the project on gender equality in cooperation with the Council of Europe, recalling that Shafag Huseynli is the head of gender equality of the Special European Committee of the Council of Europe on the World Anti-Doping Agency (CAHAMA).
Another issue on the agenda of the meeting concerned the involvement of athletes in anti-doping processes. They also discussed the attraction of additional financial resources for use in education, research and development in order to increase the effectiveness of WADA, the mechanisms of the Anti-Doping Solidarity Fund, etc.
In addition, an exchange of views took place on the specifics and practical application of the “Rodchenkov Act” adopted by the United States, as well as on the decision of the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) on RUSADA (Russian Anti-Doping Agency) and its consequences.
Vitold Banka said that protecting the integrity of sports requires effective cooperation between all stakeholders. He spoke about the latest news in the activities of his organization, including on issues related to the implementation of the 2021 World Anti-Doping Code.