In a video message to delegates of the AUSC Council of Sports Ministers meeting held in Arusha, the President assured the participants that the country is ready to house the council's secretariat headquarters.
The President noted: "I'm glad that AUSC Region 4 members, as well as other sports stakeholders from outside the region, are attending this meeting... this is the first in Tanzania, I'm humbled to welcome you to Tanzania, the land of peace and tranquility."
Samia revealed: "The meeting is going to, among others, deliberate the agenda on Tanzania's willingness to host the headquarters of AUSC, we have already submitted our expression of interest to be the headquarters of AUSC." She insisted: "I'm assuring you that Tanzania is a suitable home for various international organizations and institutions, in this regard, I'm taking this liberty to assure you, distinguished guest, that Tanzania has all the necessary facilities required for the secretariat and we are ready to go an extra mile in facilitating the smooth function of this mandate."
"I'm therefore requesting all ministers here present to grant positive consideration to our request," she said.
Prime Minister Kassim Majaliwa was set to be the guest of honour at the meeting which also attracted Directors of Sports Development from AUSC Region 4, National Sports Council leaders, and other stakeholders.
In an interview held on Wednesday, the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Culture, Arts, and Sports Saidi Yakubu said the meeting will also tackle the role of sports in addressing macro and social issues affecting the region.
He moreover said he informed the delegates of Tanzania's readiness to be the headquarters of AUSC Region 4.
Yakubu said housing the AUSC Region 4 secretariat is part of President Samia's efforts to advance Sports Diplomacy policy in the country.
He promised the delegates that once Tanzania is approved as the headquarters of AUSC Region 4, it will promote sports in the region by hosting the AUSC Region 4 Games and presenting awards for the best sportsmen and women in the region.
Yakubu also said the Council of Sports Ministers will approve strategies and policies that will stimulate and rediscover the trajectory of sports under the new normal that the entire world finds itself in.
The Council of Sports Ministers is the supreme policy-making organ of AUSC Region 4 and, among its numerous duties, is to formulate policies and regulations on the administration, organization, and promotion of sports in the region.
Tanzania will resume regional chairmanship as the mandate of the current chairman Uganda expires. More than 100 delegates are in the country for the meeting.
The AUSC is the technical arm of the African Union Commission (AUC) under the Department of Social Affairs functioning as the supreme authority for the coordination of the African Sports movement.
The AUSC Region 4 member states are Comoros, Djibouti, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Kenya, Madagascar, Mauritius, Rwanda, Seychelles, Somalia, Sudan, South Sudan, Tanzania, and Uganda.
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