SASCOC chief executive Tubby Reddy was joined by International Olympic Committee (IOC) member Sam Ramsamy in a meeting with the National Olympic Committee of the Republic of Belarus (NOC RB) 

Andrei Molchan, the Plenipotentiary of Belarus to South Africa, was also present for the talks.

The discussions saw SASCOC, who are preparing to stage the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Durban, and NOC RB was aimed at finding ways in which the two countries could constructively work together for the benefit of their athletes and coaches.

 The concept of a partnership between the two parties would be designed to develop a number of areas in each country’s sporting structure.

Among the ideas put forward, was the suggestion that the countries would be able to use each other’s sporting facilities in order to improve the training of their athletes.

Additionally the athletes would be able to share their experiences, while coaches could discuss best practices of training.

A further proposal of a cooperation would be to send national teams to sporting events held in each of the countries, with the aim of boosting competition.

While no agreement has yet been signed, both National Olympic Committees agreed to continue to look at the prospect of coming to deal.

Should they eventually sign an agreement, it will come fresh from the NOC RB sealing a Memorandum of Cooperation (MoC) with the Russian Olympic Committee in December.

One of the key purposes was for Belarus to benefit from advice from Russia on staging major sporting competitions.