The UAE will host the 18th International Paralympic Committee, IPC, General Assembly and Conference from 3rd to 9th September, under the patronage of H.H. Sheikh Nahyan bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan Charitable and Humanitarian Foundation and Chairman of the Abu Dhabi Sports Council.

During the General Assembly, which will be held in Abu Dhabi with the attendance of over 176 members representing 25 federations from various countries, elections will be held to select the IPC’s chairman and members of its board.

Mohammed Mohammed Fadel Al Hameli, Chairman of the UAE Disabled Sports Federation and Chairman of the Organising Committee of the event, will compete in the elections for a membership seat for the next cycle, after his success in the previous elections that granted the UAE’s membership of the IPC from the first round.

Al Hameli held a press conference yesterday to announce the details of the event, where he stated that the UAE’s wise leadership enthusiastically supports the participation of "people of determination" in sports, especially as the UAE is preparing to host the Special Olympics World Summer Games 2019, as the first country in the Middle East and North Africa to host this major international event.

He stressed that the coming elections will witness intense competition between the candidates for the presidency of the IPC for its upcoming cycle, after four candidates decided to contest for the position to succeed the current president, Sir Philip Craven of the United Kingdom.

Al Hameli told the Emirates News Agency, WAM, after the press conference, that the UAE is enthusiastically supporting the participation of people of determination in sports, adding that the country’s hosting of this important international sporting event reflects its leading stature in terms of hosting major international sporting events.