U.S. Embassy Honors Qatar Women’s Sport Committee
October 29, 2009
The U.S. Embassy in Doha hosted a reception on October 29 in honor of a delegation from the Qatar Women’s Sport Committee, whose members recently returned from an intensive Embassy-funded exchange program in the United States from September 25 to October 16.
The President of Qatar Women’s Sport Committee, Ahlam Salem Al Mana, along with fellow committee members Salha Masoud Al Naimi and Maha Yousef Al Abduljabbar traveled to the United States on a program titled “Women in Sports.” The three sport leaders visited and held meetings at the White House, the National Association for Girls and Women in Sports, the U.S. Tennis Association, the Positive Coaching Network and many other important U.S. sports agencies, clubs and organizations.
In remarks delivered at the reception, U.S. Embassy Public Affairs Officer Joey Hood hailed Qatar’s achievements in using sports to promote healthy lifestyles, saying, “The United States is a natural partner in supporting Qatar’s vision to become a leading nation in bringing the world together through sports. Qatar’s impressive investments in enhancing the mind, body and spirit of its youth through sports and health will reap dividends for the people of Qatar and the wider region for generations to come.”
Mr. Hood said that there is no better example of Qatar’s efforts than the Women’s Sports Committee, which is working diligently to provide spaces, equipment, coaches, and all the other support that young women need to realize their sporting dreams. The American diplomat added that sports is a major focus of the Embassy’s cultural exchanges activities, noting that the Embassy hosted the visit to Doha of two American basketball stars in May, and looked forward to more such visits.
The visit to the United States of Ms. Ahlam, Ms. Salha and Ms. Maha was organized under the auspices of the U.S. Department of State’s International Visitors’ Program, which annually brings to the United States approximately 5,000 people from all over the world to meet and confer with their professional counterparts and to experience America firsthand. The visitors are current or potential leaders in politics, the media, education, the arts, business and other fields. Hundreds of former participants in the program are current and former Chiefs of State and Heads of Government and thousands are cabinet-level ministers, and many other distinguished leaders from the public and private sectors around the world.