President of Turkmenistan Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov participated in the opening ceremony of the new Bicycle monument, erected in the south of Ashgabat, at the foothills of the Kopetdag Mountains on Wednesday.
The Head of State congratulated the participants of the ceremony with the World Bicycle Day and noted that in Turkmenistan, significant attention is paid to physical activities and sports.
Following the ceremony, Turkmen President participated in a mass bike ride with over thousands of people. A 12-kilometer bike ride ended at the State Tribune.
On Tuesday, President of Turkmenistan had held a video conference meeting with President of the International Cycling Union (UCI) David Lappartient and head of the ARETI International Group of Companies, a member of the UCI Steering Committee Igor Makarov.
During the meeting, the UCI President Lappartient informed about the decision of the UCI Steering Committee to award the Turkmen Leader with the highest award of the organization for his immense contribution to the development of world cycling.
In his congratulatory address to Turkmen citizens on occasion of the World Bicycle Day, President Berdimuhamedov said the cycling has become very popular in the country, adding that “the organization of bike rides on occasion of national holidays and significant dates has become a good tradition.”
The World Bicycle Day was established in 2018 in accordance with the Resolution of the UN General Assembly at the initiative of Turkmenistan.