Editorial
Historic times are ahead for Turkmenistan as the country is all set to host Asia’s largest and much-awaited Sports event of the year in September at its beautiful capital Ashgabat-city of love. The city holds a unique position in the Guinness Book of World Records as it is home to the largest number of white marble buildings on the planet. Close to 550 buildings have been made using marble in the city, and in total, they cover 4.5 million square meters.
Against the backdrop of this construction grandeur, elite athletes have an opportunity to shine like never before. The Games will attract more than 5,000 athletes from the 62 National Olympic Committees of Asia and Oceania to participate in 21 different sports events. The themes of these Sports are to promote Health, Inspiration, and Friendship projecting the conviction that sports and the Olympic Movement play a significant role in developing deep-rooted friendship, togetherness, mutual understanding, and cooperation amongst people.
Grand construction of the Olympic Sports Complex has already been completed with the training of more than 8,000 volunteers participating in different events to run the Games Smoothly during the 12- day competitions. This complex includes over 30 different facilities, including competition venues, accommodation, transportation, and other infrastructures.
With great vision, the Ashgabat Olympic Complex has been designed and built to provide not only the best sporting venues for a broad range of sports but also first class spectator facilities and services and a level of Broadcast and Media infrastructure which is unparalleled in the region. Turkmenistan’s dream to host a large-scale, international, multi-sport event is finally becoming a reality.
It is noted that the transformation and the preparation do not come overnight. The seeds of this dream were firmly sown some seven years ago when an agreement was signed between the Olympic Council of Asia, the National Olympic Committee of Turkmenistan and the administration of Ashgabat city in 2010.
In January 2013 President of Turkmenistan Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov established the Organising Committee for the preparation of the Games. In addition to Asian countries, for the first time in the history of the Asian Indoor and Martial Arts Games, Oceania was included in the Games, bringing the participating countries to 62. Hence the Games will be the largest ever with additional special flavor to Central Asia.
The games will highlight the significance of Turkmenistan and promote the country while showcasing the traditional and modern artifacts and buildings with a brand that takes us on a journey along the silk route and a mascot that is distinctive and unique to Turkmenistan. The Ashgabat 2017 brand has been created using traditional design to represent Turkmenistan’s journey from the past to the future through health, inspiration, friendship along the great silk road.
To mark the 50-day countdown to the opening ceremony on September 17, the organizers arranged an exclusive series of events including comprehensive briefing sessions for the sports and other journalists. Initiated by President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov, the streets of Ashgabat were open only to cyclists, with thousands of Turkmen citizens participating in these grand events.
In a ceremonial gesture, President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov was given the first ticket and the first accreditation to Ashgabat 2017 at the final stop of the event. The milestone was also marked by the launch of ticket sales across the country. Athletes and Sports manufacturing units from Pakistan are also participating enthusiastically for these historic events.
Located in the western part of Central Asia, Turkmenistan has a total area of half a million square kilometers, almost the size of Spain, and is home to more than six million people. Since the independence of the country in 1991, the country has remained on the steady path of peace and development.
The course of neutrality policy has been recognized by the United Nations formally when the country declared its world view as “permanent neutrality. ” Turkmenistan is a country to take notice of for the next 20 years, as it is going to be a state that is coming out of its isolation by trading its potentials with the outside world. This sports event is one such example.
The energy-rich hydrocarbon resources of the country are proving as an asset hence are playing a role in creating a peaceful and stable region for our future generations. Turkmenistan is utilizing its wealth of extraction of hydrocarbons through pipelines, electricity generation, and building communication infrastructure with the neighboring states, facing a dearth of energy resources and looking for ways to meet the growing demands of energy requirements.
Turkmenistan is not only outreaching to the neighboring states for providing opportunities for getting high-valued resources in order not only to make the factories and mills work smoothly. These energy pipelines, electricity transmission lines, rails, and roads will create new jobs and hence peace and prosperity in the region facing a dearth of development.
