Speech by the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev at the 46th General Assembly of the Olympic Council of Asia

Dear friends!

Ladies and gentlemen!

Today we are all We see how globalization processes are intensifying in the world, and the scale of conflicts and threats is increasing. In such a difficult situation, the role of sport in strengthening dialogue, mutual understanding and cooperation between countries and peoples is truly unique.

It is impossible to overestimate the importance and power of the impact of sport as an ambassador of peace and friendship, uniting the people of the Asian continent where we live, and all of humanity as a whole.

The Olympic Council of Asia, representing over 4 billion 800 million inhabitants of our continent, actively promotes the generally recognized humanistic principles of the Olympic movement - friendship, mutual respect, justice and equality. Through sports diplomacy, you set the example of a “United Asia”, thereby making a huge contribution to the positive transformations taking place in our region.

Taking this opportunity, as the President of Uzbekistan and the head of the National Olympic Committee, I express special gratitude to the leadership of the Council for the high trust they have placed in us - the decision to hold the 46th General Assembly of the Olympic Council of Asia in our country.

I am sincerely glad to meet you at this historic forum on our beautiful land.

Welcome to Uzbekistan!

Dear participants of the Assembly!

Today you are part of the General Assembly of the Olympic Council of Asia, which is an important platform designed to serve to strengthen mutual trust, cohesion and harmony on our continent, we considered a lot of issues. The agenda of the forum taking place in Tashkent included the holding of elections for the post of President of the Council, which, of course, became a historical event.

Let me sincerely congratulate His Excellency Sheikh Jawan bin Hamad Al Thani, who was unanimously elected to this high position.

In April last year, during a meeting with the newly elected President of the Council, we had a meaningful conversation about the importance of developing sports.

Being the first vice-president of the Association of National Olympic Committees, His Excellency Sheikh Jawan enjoys great prestige due to the many prestigious sporting events held at the highest organizational level, including the world championships in football and water sports in Qatar, and has great knowledge and experience in this field. With his unique potential and effective activities, he makes a huge contribution to the development of sports not only on our continent, but throughout the world.

I think that the Olympic Council of Asia made the most correct decision by electing a worthy candidate to the post of President of the Council.

I am confident that the authority of the Olympic Council of Asia under the direct leadership of His Excellency Sheikh Jawan will grow even further more.

Dear forum participants!

In recent years, we have raised our multifaceted cooperation with the Olympic Council of Asia to a new level. In particular, the country successfully held the 77th session of the Executive Committee of the Olympic Council of Asia. With the assistance of this authoritative organization, a representative of Uzbekistan was elected for the first time as Vice-President for the Central Asian region.

We perceive the choice of Uzbekistan as the host of the 2029 Asian Youth Games as high appreciation and recognition of our country as a responsible partner in the field of sports. Such trust helps to create a solid foundation for further strengthening ties in the field of sports with other Central Asian states - our neighbors and brothers.

Here I would like to especially note that the Director General of the Olympic Council of Asia and the head of the World Aquatics federation, Mr. Hussein al-Musallam, is a long-time and reliable friend of Uzbek sports. He has been regularly visiting our country since 1993, has developed a great love for Uzbekistan and actively supports all our international sports initiatives.

Mr. Hussein al-Musallam is known for his intellectual potential, integrity and strong-willed qualities, the ability to maintain a balanced, balanced dialogue and enjoys well-deserved authority among the wider sports community not only in Asia, but throughout the world. A clear confirmation of this is the growing worldwide interest in various types of water sports. In particular, the aquatics program at the Olympic Games in Los Angeles in 2028 has expanded from 49 to 55 species, which primarily opens up new opportunities for developing countries.

Just the other day, a meeting of the Executive Committee of the World Aquatics federation was held in our country and it was announced the creation of a regional branch, which will undoubtedly be a great support and assistance for the sports community of Central Asia.

It should be noted that the activities of the Olympic Council of Asia are recognized by sports communities around the world. Vivid evidence is the video address to the General Assembly by the President of the International Olympic Committee, Mrs. Kirsty Coventry.

The great attention to our forum is also evidenced by the participation in it as representatives of the International Olympic Committee, James McLeod and the President of the United World of Wrestling, Nenad Lalovic.

I take this opportunity to express my gratitude to those taking part in the Assembly: President of the World Anti-Doping Agency Witold Banke, President of the International Gymnastics Federation Morinari Watanabe, President of the International Weightlifting Federation Muhammad Jalud, President of World Boxing Gennady Golovkin, President of the International Field Hockey Federation Muhammad Tayab Ikram, Vice-President of the International Fencing Federation Anna Delgado, Chairman of the Asian Paralympic Committee Majid Rashid, Secretary General of the Association of National Olympic Committees Gunilla Lindberg, President of the Association of African Olympic Committees Mustafa Berraf.

We also express our respect to our dear guests: the Special Representative of the President of the United States Paolo Zampolli, Minister of Sports of the Russian Federation Mikhail Degtyarev, Minister of Sports of Saudi Arabia Prince Abdulaziz bin Turki Al Saud, Minister of Youth and Sports of the State of Qatar Sheikh Hamad Al Thani, President of the Jordan Olympic Committee Prince Faisal Al Hussein, President of the National Olympic Committee of Brunei Darussalam Prince Soufri Bolkiah, President of the Olympic Committee of Bhutan Prince Jigyel Ugyen Wangchuck, President of the National Olympic Committee of Kuwait Sheikh Fahad Sabah Al-Sabah.

Dear guests!

In New Uzbekistan, we rely primarily on educating young people in the spirit of the humanistic principles of the international Olympic movement just on our ancient history and rich culture, national values and traditions.

When it comes to this, it is appropriate to note that the famous national epic “Alpamysh” and its main characters - the courageous and invincible hero Alpamysh and the purposeful, brave Barchina - have been an ideal example for millions of young men and girls in our country for centuries.

In this sense, I will not be mistaken if I say that the noble qualities inherent in the world of sports and sports education, are enshrined in the very genetic code of our people. These qualities underlie the great experience, skill and inspiration that our athletes demonstrate on world stages.

Today, the country's population coverage of mass sports has reached 15 million people. Of course, you all understand well how important this is for a country where 60 percent of the population is young.

From the first days of our reforms, we, along with all other areas, paid great attention to the development of physical culture and sports.

In order to further popularize the Olympic movement and expand selection, we launched a three-stage system of complex sports competitions “Presidential Olympics”. At each stage of these competitions, international sports standards and requirements are introduced.

Last year, on an area of ​​100 hectares, the construction of the Olympic village was completed, which fully meets the conditions for hosting prestigious sports events.

Our sporting achievements are growing in accordance with the created opportunities and conditions. At the Olympic and Paralympic Games in Paris in 2024, athletes of Uzbekistan took 13th place in the team competition. Last year, more than 50 of our boys and girls achieved record results at world competitions, Asian and Olympic Games. Our sports youth took an honorable 2nd place at the 2025 Asian Youth Games held in Bahrain and at the Islamic Solidarity competitions in Saudi Arabia.

In recent years, Uzbekistan has worthily hosted world championships and World Cup competitions in more than 10 sports, such as weightlifting, boxing, judo, kayaking, volleyball, gymnastics, futsal.

We have created a new system of preparation for the Olympic Games and effective selection in this area. In order to consistently continue the work on training highly qualified athletes, we will continue to pay special attention to the creation of a modern sports infrastructure, extensive digitalization of the field and the development of innovations, active implementation of international standards, and strengthening sports diplomacy.

In addition, following the principle of fair sport, we remain strong supporters of the fight against doping. In this regard, we fully support the fair policy of the World Anti-Doping Agency.

It is important that today in Tashkent the Agency is holding a meeting of the Council of Regional Anti-Doping Organizations of Central Asia and the corresponding international forum. Undoubtedly, this event will provide an opportunity for local specialists to exchange experience in applying anti-doping rules.

In addition, we are proud to note that more than 50 representatives of our country are conducting fruitful activities in international sports organizations participating in the forum today.

As part of today's event, international and Asian sports organizations, whose representatives took part in it, signed more than 20 agreements with our national sports federations in their areas.

We are grateful to them for their willingness to select one sports school in each area in each of our regions and assist in turning them into exemplary ones.

For example, the International Weightlifting Federation will assist in the development of a weightlifting sports club named after Akbar Juraev in the Bostanlyk region based on modern scientific approaches, United World of Wrestling - in the creation of the Regional Wrestling Academy, the Asian Volleyball Confederation - in the opening of one volleyball sports club in each region, the International Field Hockey Federation - in the construction of two stadiums for this sport in the Tashkent and Khorezm regions. It is gratifying that the signed agreements are aimed at achieving specific goals and results.

For the full implementation of these projects, personal responsibility for their implementation will be assigned to my local representatives - khokims, as well as the heads of sports federations present here.

I am convinced that such new mechanisms of international cooperation will make a huge practical contribution to the development of sports in our country.

Dear members of the delegations!

Now allow me, in your presence, to present Sheikh Jawan al Thani with the Order of the National Olympic Committee "Shawn Sharaf" for his special contribution to the development of the Olympic movement and the promotion of important sports initiatives.

In conclusion of my speech, I would like to emphasize: New Uzbekistan is ready for multifaceted cooperation in the field of sports with all countries.

On this glorious path, our hearts are always open to close friends like you.

I wish you all health, good luck and new victories.