Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, le 13eme édition des Jeux de la Commission de la Jeunesse et des Sports de l’Océan Indien will be held on the 2nd to 10th August 2025 in Seychelles. Since its inception, our country has always participated in the CJSOI Games. Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, as regards part (a)(i) of the question, I am informed that this year’s edition will feature eleven sport disciplines and a concours culturel. The sport disciplines are – • athletics; • para-athletics;

59 • badminton; • basketball; • beach soccer; • boxing; • football; • judo; • swimming; • volleyball; • weightlifting, and • yachting. Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, with regard to part (a)(ii) of the question, I am informed that the seven member countries have confirmed their participation, namely – • Comoros; • Djibouti; • Madagascar; • Mauritius; • Mayotte; • Reunion Island, and • Seychelles. Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, concerning part (a)(iii) of the question, I am informed that 165 participants, including 27 from Rodrigues, will represent the Republic of Mauritius. Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, in order to ensure an optimal preparation for the games, my Ministry is providing the following facilities and support – (i) Access to the high-performance centre at Côte d’Or National Sport Complex for physical preparation; (ii) Participation in local and regional competitions; (iii) A light meal after training sessions; (iv) Sport facilities; (v) Intensive training; (vi) Camps tailored to each sport; (vii) Provision of specific equipment, and

60 (viii) Medical and paramedical facilities such as massage, vitamins and supplements, blood tests and dental care. A comité de suivi chaired by the Director of Sports of my Ministry has been set up to ensure the effective implementation of these measures. Accordingly, officers of my Ministry conduct regular site visits and hold regular meetings with the National Sports Federation. These allow for close monitoring and timely feedback on the ongoing preparation. Further, I am informed by the Commission for Youth and Sports in Rodrigues that athletes are provided with transport facilities for training purposes in Rodrigues. The Commission also met the travel costs for the athletes who came to Mauritius to participate in qualifying rounds in the case of athletics, boxing and volleyball. Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, as regard to part (b) of the question, as I have already indicated, the CJSOI games also feature – • a concours culturel which includes an assemblée des jeunes where our youth, one boy and one girl, will intervene on this year’s theme which is Les enjeux climatiques et l’écoresponsabilité des jeunes; • an exchanged cultural dance and theatre where there are Mauritian boys and girls who will present a dance item specific to our country; • a salon des jeunes entrepreneurs where two Mauritians, one male and one female, will have an opportunity to showcase their entrepreneurship talent; • e-sports where one boy and one girl will get to compete in a videogame against participants from other countries, and • a forum de la jeunesse where all young people from the seven countries of the CJSOI and who are partaking in the concours culturel can participate. Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, I am confident that with these facilities and support, our athletes will surely make our country proud and bring a maximum of medals.

Thank you. Do you have a supplementary?

Yes, please. I think I have just missed some of the numbers. May I ask the hon. Minister whether, there will be parity in the national delegation for coaches, encadreurs and the youth participants from Rodrigues for the initiative of concours culturel, salon des jeunes as you mentioned for this game?

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Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, I wish to inform the House and my hon. colleague from Rodrigues in particular, that I have ensured that our youth from Rodrigues are adequately represented in the games. Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, six young Rodriguans are participating in the concours culturel in parity with their counterparts from mainland Mauritius. This arrangement also applies to the encadreurs. In the last edition of the CJSOI games in 2022 in Mauritius, two young from Rodrigues had participated therein. Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, I wish to point out that the Commission for Youth and Sports in Rodrigues was entrusted with the responsibility of selecting the Rodriguan participants in respect of the concours culturel.

The hon. Second Member for Quartier Militaire and Moka! VETERINARY SERVICES – EFFICIENCY & CORRECTIVE MEASURES