From 1 to 5 April 2013 the IKA delegation headed by the IKA President Mr. Komil Yusupov visited the Democratic Republic of Congo and the Republic of Congo, two neighboring countries in the heart of Africa.

These two states have a special significance in the African continent. The DRC is one of the largest countries in Africa, in terms of territory, amount of mineral resources and the number of population which is over 70 mln. The Republic of Congo is the host country of the XI All-African Games, the main multisport competition in Africa which is held once in every four years and is the continental model of the summer Olympics.

On 1-3 April, the IKA delegation had a number of important meetings in Kinshasa, the capital of the DRC. The first meeting took place with the General Secretary of sport Mr. Barthelemy Okito, who was the founder of the DRC Kurash Federation back in 2006. Today Mr. Okito is one of the main supporters of Kurash promotion in this large country. He gives his full assistance to the activity of the local Kurash national federation, headed by Mr. Yafali Milambo, who is also the founder and the president of the Central African Kurash Zone Federation, uniting the countries located in the center of Africa.

Then the IKA delegation had negotiations with the Minister of sports, youth and culture of the DRC Mr. Banza Mukalay Nsungu. The sides discussed the support from the government to the national Kurash federation of the DRC, and the proposal of the Congolese side to be a host of the 2014 World Kurash Junior Championships. The minister said that should the DRC be given the right to host world Kurash championships, it would be the first time the DRC would host such a major international event in the last 40 years after the famous professional boxing match between Muhammad Ali and George Foreman held in 1974 in Kinshasa.

The IKA delegation also had a formal meeting with one of the most powerful and influential ministers in the DRC, Mr. Richard Muyej Mangeze Mans, the Minister of internal affairs, national security and immigration. He also confirmed that the government of the DRC would be very interested to host the World Kurash championships 2014 in Kinshasa. The Minister said that should the championships be granted to the DRC, his ministry would guarantee the security to all foreign participants of the event and significantly ease the visa procedures for them.

The IKA delegation met also the deputy minister of foreign affairs of the DRC Mr. Dismas Magbengu Ndenga. The sides discussed the accreditation by the ministry of the headquarters of the Central African Kurash Zone Federation in Kinshasa. The ministry official assured the IKA delegation that the all necessary documents had been submitted to the ministry and that in the nearest future the accreditation would be granted.

The DRC Kurash federation also organized the presentation competition at one of the central Kurash clubs in Kinshasa, there the IKA delegation had a chance to meet hundreds of young Kurash players aged from 5 to 15, and present them with Kurash official uniform Yaktak, promotional material and videos about Kurash.

Several press conferences and briefings took place throughout the visit of the IKA delegation, the visit was widely covered by DRC’s press and television media.

On 4-5 April, the IKA delegation visited the neighboring Republic of Congo, its capital Brazzaville. There the delegation had official meetings with the Minister of sports and physical education Mr. Leon Alfred Opimbai and the Director General of sports Mr. Emile Bakale. The IKA delegation raised the question of inclusion of Kurash to the official competition program of the All-African Games, which would be held in 2015 in Brazzaville, and the support from the government to the local Kurash national association. The Republic of Congo Kurash Association despite being a relatively young organization has already successfully organized several important Kurash events, including the African continental Kurash senior and junior championships in 2012.

The ministry officials assured the IKA delegation that all would be done in order to include Kurash to the program of the Games and support would be given to the local Kurash association.