On September 17, 2017 in Ashgabat with the participation of the President of Turkmenistan Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov, heads of states and governments of several countries, prominent foreign figures, heads of international organizations and other honorary guests, the official opening ceremony of the 5th Asian Indoor and Martial Arts Games was held. In the second half of the day, the head of state arrived at the building of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Turkmenistan, where participants...

On September 16, 2017 the Media Center of the V Asian Indoor and Martial Arts Games started its work in the Olympic city. In the course of the Games, it will become the center of media activity, from here the operative and detailed information about the course of sports competitions will be distributed throughout the world. The conference-hall of the Media Center will host official press conferences. The solemn ceremony of launching the Media Center was attended by the organizers of the Games...

On September 16, 2017 the first game day in the V Asian Indoor and Martial Arts Games ended. The official opening of the Games took place on September 17, but the first sets of jiu-jitsu and the national Turkmen wrestling awards was played, the futsal team matches started. As a result of the first day of the competition, the Turkmen team leads with 37 medals, including 16 gold, 14 silver and 7 bronze medals. The first "gold" in the treasury of the national team brought the competition in jiu-...

On September 15, 2017, in Geneva, Switzerland, the UN Human Rights Council (UN HRC) adopted the Joint Statement of Turkmenistan and Brazil "On encouraging valuable contribution of Olympic refugee teams in strengthening peace and human rights", initiated by the Government of Turkmenistan. According to this document, UN HRC member states welcome the participation of refugees and refugee teams in major international multi-sport events, as pioneered in the Rio 2016 Olympic Games and, most recentl...

The Joint Statement of Turkmenistan and Brazil "On Encouraging the Valuable Contribution of the Olympic Teams of Refugees to the Promotion of Peace and Human Rights" adopted on September 15, 2017, at the 36th session of the UN Human Rights Council (UNHCR) in Geneva, Switzerland, on the initiative of the Government of Turkmenistan was supported by many foreign governmental and international experts in the field of human rights. For example, on its online information portals, the US diplomatic...

On September 12, 2017, the seventy-second session of the UN General Assembly opened at the United Nations Headquarters in New York, which will work from September 2017 to September 2018. In the course of its work, the UN General Assembly will give priority to the issues of conflict prevention, protection of human rights, promotion of Sustainable development goals, climate change and UN reforms. Also, during the period from September 19 to September 25, 2017, a general debate will be held with...

On behalf of UNICEF in Turkmenistan, I would like to congratulate the Government of Turkmenistan on hosting the 5th Asian Indoor and Martial Arts Games. We are witnessing a historic event that will highlight the magical power of sports in bringing people closer together, as more than 6,000 athletes from Asia and Oceania, including one refugee team are expected to participate in AIMAG 2017. It is heartening to see volunteers, who make-up mostly young people from the country, that are working rele...