Kenyan athletes are set to benefit from the newly-found partnership between the National Olympic Committee(NOC-K) of Kenya and Cuba.
The partnership was sealed after Juan Manuel Rodriquez Vazquez, Ambassador of the Republic of Cuba paid a courtesy call to NOC-K.
Ambassador Vazquez was received by NOC-K officials including President, Paul Tergat, and his deputies Shadrack Maluki, and Waithaka Kioni.
Also present was the body's secretary general Francis Mutuku.
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During the meeting, Tergat praised Cuba for registering major success at the Olympic Games promoting diversity of sports in the country.
“NOC-K is keen to leverage sports to contribute to sports diplomacy between peoples and nations using our incredible athletes to promote warm relations and partnerships because one of the Olympic values is friendliness," he said
According to NOC-K, the partnership Kenya will get the opportunity to learn from Cuba through exchange programs that will include coaches training, sports collaborations and academic exchange programs among others.
The visit by the Cuban ambassador and his team was geared towards Kenya and Cuba getting to explore ways in which the two nations can collaborate and borrow from each other as far as sports programs are concerned.
“We will not only be looking at the older elite athletes but also the young ones who hold the future of our sports as a nation. Ensuring they get the right experience at a young age puts us at a very good place in terms of preparation for competitions and junior development in the country,” Tergat noted.
On his part, Cuba's ambassador noted that his country was open to partnering with Kenya to see how they can develop and share expertise in the various sports that we are good at as a country," he added.
Cuba has won 84 gold, 69 silver, and 80 bronze medals respectively at the Olympics.
The South American nation is the most successful country that has participated in the summer Olympics without ever attending the winter games.
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