On 23 January 2025, President of Turkmenistan Serdar Berdimuhamedov received the Director General of the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA), President of the World Aquatics Organization Hussein Al-Musallam.
Hussein Al-Musallam expressed gratitude to the Head of state for his time and noted that the OCA highly appreciates Turkmenistan’s efforts in the development of sports. He also thanked the President of the country for supporting the Olympic movement and training international athletes.
President Serdar Berdimuhamedov, in turn, expressed confidence that the visit of the Director General would give an impetus to the development of cooperation between Turkmenistan and the Council.
During the meeting, it was emphasized that the development of physical culture and sports, as well as international cooperation in this field, are priorities of Turkmenistan’s state policy.
Turkmenistan adheres to the principles of the Olympic movement and stands for the expansion of regional and international partnership in the field of sports and is taking concrete measures to this end.
Turkmenistan actively cooperates with the International Olympic Committee, the Olympic Council of Asia and other international organizations. Examples of successful cooperation include the holding of the 5th Asian Indoor and Martial Arts Games, the Amul–Khazar 2018 International Rally, the World Weightlifting Championships, and Turkmenistan’s initiative to declare 3 June as “World Bicycle Day”, adopted by the UN General Assembly in 2018.
It was noted that international competitions regularly held in Turkmenistan contribute to the popularization of the cultural and spiritual values of the Turkmen people, as well as their economic achievements.
The sides discussed the issues related to the development of water sports in Turkmenistan, which are widespread throughout the world and contribute to the education of physically strong and healthy young people.
At the end of the meeting, President Serdar Berdimuhamedov expressed gratitude to Hussein Al-Musallam for his personal contribution to the development of cooperation between Turkmenistan and the OCA, as well as for the constant support of the country’s initiatives in this direction.///nCa, 24 January 2025