The two-day summit, hosted by the Qatar Olympic Committee (QOC) in the Qatari capital, was also attended by NOC Presidents from the five other GCC members: Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Saudi Arabia and United Arab Emirates.

Much cooperation has also taking place between the six NOCs in recent years, including the growth of the Schools Olympic Programme (SOP), a project begun eight years ago in Qatar which is now being spread to the other member nations.

"The QOC is united with all GCC Olympic Committees in our ambition to engage and inspire young people through the power of sport, use sport to strengthen society and to promote Olympic values," said Qatar Olympic Committee (QOC) secretary general Sheikh Saoud Bin Abdulrahman al-Thani afterwards.

"Youth sports participation and education is a key focus of the International Olympic Committee's (IOC) Agenda 2020 reforms and we are committed to supporting the IOC in their implementation of these recommendations.

"We are very pleased with the proposals put forward at the GCC Olympic Committee meetings this week and we look forward to an exciting future for youth participation across the whole of the GCC."

Many major events have taken place in Gulf nations to inspire young athletes in recent years, including January's World Handball Championships in Qatar ©Qatar 2015/Facebook



Daily physical education classes in schools was among other ideas put forward, with the aim of "educating elementary, secondary and high school students on the benefits of physical education while simultaneously developing their practical skills in various sports".

A GCC Youth Games would be a competitive extension of these ideas.

This would follow on from other regional events, including the 2nd GCC Beach Games in Doha from April 2 to 9, the 4th GCC Women's Games, scheduled for Oman from March 8 to 18, and the 2nd GCC Games, set for Dammam, Saudi Arabia from October 17 to 28.

GCC members have enjoyed strong performances at international competitions in recent years, with Qatar winning 10 gold medals at last autumn's Asian Games in Incheon, followed by nine for Bahrain, three each for Kuwait and Saudi Arabia and one for UAE.

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