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INTERNATIONAL

Turkmen istan I

to host V Asian Indoor and Martial Arts Games

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15 N I S T A N
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AUTHOR: H.E. MR. ATAGELDI HALJANOV 4. shgabat 2017
Ambassador and Permanent Representative of Turkmenistan to the
United Nations Office and other International Organisations at Geneva

Sport is an effective and flexible instru- men capital that a number of stadiums of the organisation of modern sports in-
ment for the promotion of peace and were built and put into operation such frastructures in different countries.
development. The outcome document as the Ice Palace, the water sports com- One of the main purposes of the Asian
of the United Nations Summit for the plex, the winter sports complex, the Na- Games is to increase the authority of
post-2015 development agenda notes tional Institute of Sports and Tourism, Turkmenistan in the international are-
that sports is an important factor for as well as many other sports facilities. In na, and also to popularize sport - and
sustainable development. The UN rec- all regions of the country there are doz- not just elite sport. It also works for
ognizes the significant contribution of ens of sports facilities that meet modern mass physical culture, sport and the
sports in peace and development, as it requirements, while schools work in dif- recreation movement, in which each
promotes the principles of tolerance and ferent areas of sports training. year a growing number of Turkmeni-
respect, promoting the empowerment At the same time, national and interna- stan citizens is involved. In this context,
of women and youth, as well as health, tional level events such as tournaments it should be noted that on the initiative
education and social integration. and championships are being organ- of the head of state, a monthly event
The year 2017 will be marked for Turk- ised. All this has created favorable con- entitled "Health and Happiness" is
menistan by a major sporting event ditions for physical culture and sports held and celebrated in April on World
- the V Asian Indoors and Martial Arts along with sporting events. As a result, Health Day. Its purpose is to popular-
Games. On December 19, 2010, af- the number of children and young ize the country's principles of a healthy
ter signing in Kuwait a memorandum people engaged in various sports has lifestyle, as well as the development of
between the Olympic Council of Asia increased many times over. physical culture and sport in Turkmen-
and the National Olympic Committee istan. World Health Day is considered
of Turkmenistan, Ashgabat received Asian Games as a public holiday in Turkmenistan.
the right to host V Asian Indoor and In preparation for the Asian Games, The desire of Turkmenistan to attain
Martial Arts Games. extensive work on the transformation new heights and world achievements
This OCA decision was evidence of the of the capital, the construction of ho- was seen in the construction of the
country's international prestige and the tel complexes, shopping and entertain- Olympic Village in the capital, where
policy of wide international coopera- ment venues, commissioning of a new participants of the V Asian Indoor and
tion pursued by President Gurbanguly international airport and several other Martial Arts Games will fight for med-
Berdimuhamedov. It is a sign of trust facilities, is being carried out. als. Therefore, assigning the status of
and recognition of the undoubted suc- Another important component of the Ashgabat as the capital for the V Asian
cesses of Turkmenistan in political, so- development of our country as a sports' Games is recognition of Turkmenistan
cio-economic and other areas, and ad- power is the creation of the necessary as a country with a highly developed
herence to the high humanistic ideals legal framework for the development sports' infrastructure.
of the Olympic movement. of physical culture and sports. It in-
The right to host complex international cludes training of athletes and vol- Prestige of Turkmenistan
games is gained only by those coun- unteers and an invitation to work for The project "Asian Games-2017" will
tries that have developed a national foreign experts in the field of sports. increase the international prestige of
sports base. Due to the great attention In particular, only in recent years has Turkmenistan. Events on such a level
paid by the President of Turkmenistan Turkmenistan adopted laws "On Physi- directly activate the multi-pronged
to the development of sports, the state cal Culture and Sport' "On profession- international partnerships, contribute
allocates significant investments in the al sports' "On volunteering" and "On to the strengthening of friendship and
construction of modern sports and the organization and holding of 2017 V business contacts, establish an atmos-
recreational complexes. Of particular Asian Indoor Games and Martial Arts phere of trust and mutual understand-
importance is the modernization of in the city Ashgabat' ing in the region and the world at large.
the corresponding infrastructure. This It should be noted that the sports theme They also stimulate the development of
is considered as the basis, not only for is invariably introduced by President the national economy, cultural life and
the development of high performance Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov, who the tourist industry.
sport, but also for creating conditions is President of the National Olympic In September 2017, the Ashgabat Asian
for sports and mass movement to raise Committee. He brings it into the agenda Games will be the largest such games,
a physically strong generation along of talks at the highest levels in his pro- going beyond continental competi-
with approval in society of principles gramme of foreign visits. During these tions. It will be the first time that teams
of a healthy and active lifestyle. the head of state allocates time in his from Asia and also from Oceania will
It was only in recent years in the Turk- busy schedule to review the experience attend. According to the Memorandum

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