It is our first official meeting in Baku within the Ninth Session of the Conference of the Parties (COP9) to the International Convention against Doping in Sport,” COP9 Bureau Chairman Matar Ba said as he addressed the Inaugural COP9 Bureau Meeting in Baku.

Expressing his gratitude to the Azerbaijani government for its exceptional organization and hospitality, he added: "We are striving to do great things in sports and share our experiences. The meeting will focus on discussion of several issues. Our pivotal purpose is to promote clean sports."

Executive Director of COP9 for the Convention Marcellin Dally, in turn, thanked the Minister of Youth and Sports Farid Gayibov for inviting them to such a beautiful country, by saying: “We made the decision to organize the conference in Baku last year. We are eager to sharing our experience here".

The meeting`s ultimate goal is to ensure full implementation of the anti-doping provisions, with particular emphasis on sharing experiences and best practices among participating states.