Led by International Olympic Committee (IOC) Coordination Commission Chair Nawal El Moutawakel, an IOC delegation  comprising IOC Olympic Games Executive Director Gilbert Felli and IOC Sports Director Christophe Dubi, met this thursday with Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff at the Palácio do Planalto in Brasilia during a visit to the host nation of the 2016 Olympic Games.

Speaking after the meeting, El Moutawakel said, “With London 2012 almost upon us, it will soon be Rio’s turn to be under the spotlight. It was therefore an opportune time for us to come and visit President Rousseff. She has always been a strong supporter of the Rio project and today’s meeting has underlined that once again. Indeed, the importance of these Olympic Games to the Brazilian people was evident throughout our discussions.”

Meeting on International Women’s Day, the two women discussed the progress of the Rio 2016 project, with President Rousseff reiterating her government’s strong support for the Games. Also attending the meeting were key Brazilian stakeholders in the Rio 2016 project, including Brazilian Minister of Sport Aldo Rebelo; Sergio Cabral, Governor of the State of Rio de Janeiro; Edouardo Paes, Mayor of Rio de Janeiro; Márcio Fortes, President of APO, and Carlos Nuzman, President of the Rio 2016 Organising Committee.

El Moutawakel added: “The challenge in front of the Brazilian team is an impressive one given the scale of the Games project and the immovable deadline of 5 August 2016. Rio 2016 and its partners continue to deliver successfully on their commitments but as we have said since day one, there is not a second to waste. We have been reassured to see that the government support that we’ve seen since the bid phase remains strong, with all levels of the state continuing to work hand in hand with each other and the Rio 2016 Organising Committee to deliver great Olympic Games in 2016.”

The president of the Rio 2016 Organising Committee for the Olympic and Paralympic Games, Carlos Arthur Nuzman, also participated in the meeting in Brasília and stated that the union of the three levels of government made the organisation and planning of thte Games speedier and more efficient. Nuzman highlighted the transformation the city of Rio is going through.

“I am certain that Rio de Janeiro will be the greatest example of transformation of a city in the history of the Olympic Games. We are very pleased to be working with the three levels of government to make Rio an example to other cities after the 2016 Games”. 

The meeting coincided with the IOC's project review in Rio -- a regular visit by the IOC Coordination Commission Executive leadership and the IOC administration that is held between full visits of the Coordination Commission. During this visit, the Commission also took part in the announcement of the course designer for Rio's future Olympic golf course and visited Rio's athletes’ park and Port development. The next full visit of the Coordination Commission will be from 4 to 6 June 2012