The Turkmenistan National Olympic Committee (NOC) today expressed its excitement at the prospect of welcoming the 45 NOCs of the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) to Ashgabat next month as it began the final preparations for hosting the 34th OCA General Assembly.
Delegates will arrive in Ashgabat on 13 and 14 September before the OCA Executive Board meets on 15 September. On the evening of 15 September the inauguration of the General Assembly will take place and be followed by an official welcome dinner hosted by the Turkmenistan NOC.
For some of the delegates of the 45 NOCs it will be the first time they have visited the Turkmenistan capital city and the event will provide an opportunity to visit some of the venues that will be used for the 5th Asian Indoor and Martial Arts Games (AIMAG) in 2017.
Secretary General of Turkmenistan’s National Olympic Committee, Azat Muradov, said:
"It is a real honour to be hosting the OCA General Assembly in Ashgabat. We have a rich and diverse culture here in Turkmenistan and we look forward to welcoming the diversity of the Asian continent in September. Under the leadership of the OCA, our continent is more united through sport and the OCA General Assembly is very important in bringing us all together as we work towards our common future. There will be many important decisions made during the General Assembly and we are working hard to ensure that we provide a professional but also relaxing atmosphere for our guests."
Chairman of the AIMAG 2017 Executive Committee, Dayanch Gulgeldiev, whose team is assisting in the preparations for the OCA General Assembly, added:
"We are very excited about welcoming our friends from the OCA to Ashgabat next month. We want to use sport to open our country up to the world and hosting international events and meetings is an excellent way of doing that. We also want to use the occasion as an opportunity to show the Asian NOCs our preparations for the Asian Indoor and Martial Arts Games in 2017. We are working in close collaboration with the OCA to ensure that we deliver a world-class event which provides a lasting legacy for Ashgabat, Turkmenistan and the surrounding region."
The 2017 AIMAG is set to be the biggest yet and will feature all 45 Asian NOCs as well as 17 Oceania NOCs following the historic agreement signed between the OCA and ONOC last year. More than 5,000 athletes from 62 countries will compete across 21 sports during the Games.
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