On January 23, 2025, President of Turkmenistan Serdar Berdimuhamedov received the Director General of the Olympic Council of Asia, President of the World Aquatics Organization Husain Al-Musallam.

Having expressed sincere gratitude to the head of state for the time devoted to the meeting, the guest noted that the Olympic Council of Asia highly appreciates Turkmenistan’s efforts to develop sports. Husain Al-Musallam also expressed words of gratitude to the President of the country for his support in developing the Olympic movement and training international athletes.

Having welcomed the Director General of the Olympic Council of Asia, President Serdar Berdimuhamedov expressed confidence that his current visit would give impetus to the further development of cooperation between Turkmenistan and the Council.

As was noted during the meeting, the development of physical culture and sports, as well as broad international cooperation in this area are among the priorities of the state policy of our country. In this area, the country cooperates with the International Olympic Committee, the Olympic Council of Asia, specialized federations and other authoritative international organizations, which is a clear confirmation of Turkmenistan’s broad support for sports diplomacy.

Examples of cooperation include the successful holding of the 5th Asian Indoor and Martial Arts Games, the “Amul-Khazar 2018” international rally along the ancient Great Silk Road, as well as the World Weightlifting Championships.

Along with this, the importance of the Resolution adopted in 2018 by the United Nations General Assembly at the initiative of Turkmenistan on declaring June 3 of each year “World Bicycle Day” was emphasized.

The interlocutors also discussed 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 of Turkmenistan Serdar Berdimuhamedov expressed gratitude to the Director General of the OCA, President of the World Aquatics Organization Husain Al-Musallam for his great personal contribution to the development of cooperation between Turkmenistan and the Olympic Council of Asia, as well as for the constant support of our country’s initiatives in this direction, wishing the guest good health and success in his work.