Minister of Youth, Sports and Community Empowerment Ahmed Mahloof has stated the development of sports is essential to prevent exposure of youth to crime and establish a peaceful society. He made the remarks while speaking at the inauguration of the counter terrorism workshop held by the National Counter Terrorism Centre (NCTC) and the youth ministry.
Speaking at the event, Minister Mahloof said important changes have been brought to the sports sector of the Maldives over the past three years, noting the country has started to shine in multiple sports. The minister highlighted the government's priority to youth and sports development, noting it is essential to eliminate exposure to crime at young ages and to build safe communities.
The workshop, held under the UN Global Programme on the Security of Major Sporting Events and Promotion of Sport and its Values as a Tool to Prevent Violent Extremism, was a collaboration between the youth ministry and NCTC along with the United Nations Office of Counter-Terrorism (UNOTC), United Nations Interregional Crime and Justice Research Institute (UNICRI) and United Nations Alliance of Civilisations (UNAOC). NCTC revealed 70 individuals from state institutions, private organisations and sports athletes took part in the workshop.