Historic agreement signed in Lausanne at IOC HQ – Pescante expresses satisfaction

Israel will train Palestinian athletes for the London 2012 Olympics. The agreement was signed on 25 January at the IOC headquarters in Lausanne in the presence of UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, IOC President Jacques Rogge and IOC Vice President Mario Pescante. The agreement, mediated by Mario Pescante, who also acts as the IOCs ‘Foreign Minister and who hailed it as “an historic event!”, follows meetings between Rogge and Pescante and the Palestinians and the Israelis during their visit to the Middle East last October. As Pescante is never tired of repeating, this agreement shows how sport can achieve where diplomacy and politics cannot reach.