Riyadh, February 22, 2023, SPA -- Bulgaria's Minister of Youth and Sports, Vesela Lecheva, took part in the Global Ministerial Forum on Sport Values, Ethics and Integrity 2023, held in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on February 21. Addressing the forum, Minister Lecheva said, “Sport does not guarantee peace a priori. It is a constructive social mechanism aiming to establish social integrity and peace. This principle needs to be well interpreted by policy and properly placed in sport-related legislation,” adding, "otherwise, we risk leaving sport in the hands of commercial trends alone. This would be a prerequisite for abuse of the set of values that come with sport." The global forum saw the participation of high-ranking sports representatives from all over the world. It gave the participants an opportunity to take specific action on current challenges in sport, analyze the need to support the sport movement to achieve common goals, and protect sport as a universal public good. The forum aimed at instilling moral and ethical values in sports, achieving the noble goals of sports, creating a healthy sports environment, building fruitful relations among participating countries and teams, and supporting shared visions on sports issues. The Global Ministerial Forum on Sport Values, Ethics and Integrity 2023 concluded with a reaffirmation of strong commitment to the international rules that support sport values, ethics, and integrity, and also called for strengthening cooperation among public authorities, the sport movement and other key stakeholders. -- SPA 23:32 LOCAL TIME 20:32 GMT 0025 www.spa.gov.sa/w1858367