OREANDA-NEWS. April 7, 2009. President of Turkmenistan Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov received Sheikh Ahmed Al-Fahad Al-Sabah, President of the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) and Husain Al-Musallam, Director General of the Olympic Council of Asia who had arrived in the Turkmen capital to perform the noble mission – to award the highest award of this authoritative international organisation – the Order of Honour to the leader of Turkmenistan.

Congratulating the President of Turkmenistan on this occasion Sheikh Ahmed Al-Fahad Al-Sabah emphasized that the Order of Honour was awarded to the leader of Turkmenistan in recognition of the really profound contribution of Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov to developing the sports movement in Turkmenistan. The guest conveyed the heartfelt greetings and best wishes on behalf of the leadership of Kuwait to the Turkmen leader.

Thanking for the award the Turkmen leader said that he viewed this high award as international recognition of Turkmenistan’s policy aimed at developing physical culture and sports and the large-scale work carried on in the country in this field. The President of Turkmenistan noted that this policy was based on the major principle – the concern for people’s health and physical perfection of every citizen. The sports complexes were put into operation in Ashgabat and all the regions of the country, dozens of new sports facilities equipped in compliance with the IOC requirements were under construction today. Turkmenistan would ensure the conditions conducive to holding various sports competitions and hosting the international sporting events by 2015.

Sheikh Ahmed Al-Fahad Al-Sabah said that he was greatly impressed by the scale and pace of the changes going on in the country. Present-day Turkmenistan where the progressive reforms were successfully implemented to guarantee the worthy life quality to the Turkmen people could set an example for other countries, said Sheikh Ahmed Al-Fahad Al-Sabah.