ISLAMABAD: Speakers at an international Webinar on Thursday took exception to the boycott of Beijing Winter Olympics by a few countries and highlighted its significance for the promotion of peace, harmony and co-existence among the comity of nations.
“Winter Olympics is an opportunity for the world to build and give peace a chance. There should not be any politics in sports as these games are to learn to coexist and develop a shared future for mankind, ” the speakers said unanimously while addressing to the online session.
The Webinar titled “Beijing Winter Olympics: Voices from the Globe” was hosted by the Friends of Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) Forum.
It was attended by a large number of media persons, journalists, students, and academicians from across the world.
The speakers said “Boycotting such international games by a few countries is not favourable, while the world is fighting gigantic challenges, including pandemics and climate change.”
In her welcome remarks, Farhat Asif, Co-Founder of the BRI Forum, highlighted the significance of the platform which was aimed at developing an understanding through dialogue and effective communications under various initiatives.
Former Pakistan envoy to China Masood Khalid said China deserved all accolades for hosting one of the most outstanding Olympics in the time of the pandemic.
He emphasized that the games should not be politicized those doing it were not supporting the cause of development and peace in the world.
Masood said sports offered an opportunity to unite nations and create world solidarity.
Due to the presence of the world leaders at the inaugural ceremony, there was an opportunity to engage in meaningful bilateral exchanges, he said, adding “This has further cemented relations with other countries.”
Song Ronghua, Founder of the Silk Road Cities Alliance said that sports kept the world healthy. “Sports events like Winter Olympics allow people to unite, offer a common platform for athletes to build peace and synergy regardless of identity, language, and culture.”
Professor Zhou Rong, Chongyang Institute for Financial Study, Renmin University, said the wide coverage of the Olympics through global media reflected the togetherness of the people from the world.
“China’s message is the way of hope, peace, and prosperity and for this, all nations should join hands with China to make the world a better place.”
Sergey Sanakoev, President of the Asia-Pacific Research Center and Deputy Chairman of the Russian-Chinese Friendship Association said the Olympic Games were ideal for diplomacy and the countries should avoid warmongering, especially the ongoing issue on Ukraine.
He said the Minsk agreement should be applied in the true sense.
Ke Ye, Editor-in-Chief, In Zhejiang, China, talked about the popularity of the Beijing Winter Olympics and highlighted how the media was playing a constructive role in building peace and harmony.
Indranandra Abeysekera, President of the Association for Sri Lanka-China Social and Cultural Cooperation, reiterated China’s determination for building a shared future for all.
Furthermore, he said that despite the Covid-19 pandemic, China had successfully hosted the important global event.
Crystal Huang, Deputy Director, China Association for promoting UN procurement said “As we are in this together, we all will overcome the challenges together in the shared future referring to the official theme song of the Olympics.”
Dr. Nadia Helmy, Associate Professor of Political Science at Beni Suef University in Egypt said that regardless of different political opinions, it could not be denied that the games had been a roaring success.