A meeting with the first female Turkmenistan’s World Weightlifting Champion Yulduz Jumabayeva was held today at the Institute of International Relations of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Turkmenistan. The faculty staff and students of the university have congratulated the international master of sports and her coach on success.
During the meeting, the role of sports diplomacy in promoting national interests in international relations and foreign policy were discussed, as it is becoming important aspect of diplomatic practice and growing part of the global sports industry.
Now there is a process of formation of sports diplomacy as a humanitarian technology and a full-fledged institution of civil society capable to deal with the strategic tasks of states in the field of domestic and foreign policy.
Sports diplomacy as an independent type of diplomatic activity is aimed at achieving mutual understanding between peoples, strengthening peace and cooperation through sports. Traditional diplomacy uses the opportunities of athletes and competitions to create a better image of their country among the foreign public.
The success of the Turkmen weightlifters: the Honored Master of Sports in Weightlifting, three-time World and European Champion, Champion of Asia and the Asian Games Altymyrad Orazdurdyev, the first female Turkmen World Champion Yulduz Jumabayeva can be cited as the vivid examples.
As it was noted during the meeting today, the success of Yulduz at the World Weightlifting Championship held in Ashgabat in November 2018 played a significant role in the development of national and international sports.
Her victory became example of sports honesty and justice, and it is also confirmed the successful implementation of gender policy in Turkmenistan. Today, the women of the country can work in various fields, reveal their abilities and develop in any direction, including in such sports that were previously regarded exclusively as a “male” sport.
There are many examples in the world history when sports diplomacy became the effective tool in the hands of skilled politicians, and in modern time, this type of diplomacy is assigned a converging, unifying role in interstate relations as a way to overcome linguistic and socio-cultural differences, expand dialogue and cultural understanding on the basis of a universal passion for sports.