Baku, March 6, AZERTAC The First Formal Meeting of the Bureau of the 9th session of the Conference of the Parties to the International Convention against Doping in Sports (COP9) has today kicked off in Baku.The meeting agenda focused on the delivery of outcomes and proposals requested by COP8, such as the refinement and improvement of the Convention’s monitoring system and the support provided to States Parties to enable them to take full ownership of the Convention’s provisions. COP9 represented a milestone in the Convention’s development and capacity to respond to States Parties’ needs and expectations, as well to adapt to the constant evolution of the global sport ecosystem and its challenges. COP9 will also provide the opportunity to examine potential developments of the Convention in order to increase its capacity to respond to emergent challenges.Last October, Azerbaijan’s Minister of Youth and Sports Farid Gayibov was unanimously elected as a vice-chairman of the International Convention against Doping in Sport on the sidelines of the Conference of Parties (COP) to the International Convention against Doping in Sport held at UNESCO Headquarters, in Paris.