ALMATY — A ceremony was held in Almaty on October 13 to present a state award of Kazakhstan to International Tennis Federation President David Haggerty. The event took place during the annual World Tennis AGM General Assembly, infohub.kz reports.
Minister of Tourism and Sports of the Republic of Kazakhstan Yerbol Myrzabosynov presented the order on behalf of the Head of State. The award recognizes David Haggerty's many years of contribution to the development and strengthening of international cooperation through sport.
The Dostyk Order, II degree, is awarded for fruitful work in preserving mutual accord in society and for merits in strengthening peace, friendship and cooperation among peoples.
The ceremony began with the reading of a message from the President of Kazakhstan to the participants of the General Assembly. Almaty Akim Darkhan Satybaldy read out the greeting from the head of state and also officially opened the assembly.
In his message, Qasym-Jomart Toqaev noted that holding the international forum in Almaty reflects the trust and respect of the world community for Kazakhstan, and emphasized the importance of further cooperation with World Tennis:
"The holding of this prestigious international forum in Almaty reflects the high trust and respect of the world community for our country. This recognition is a great honor for us. We count on close cooperation with World Tennis to achieve these goals. I am confident that today's annual General Assembly will contribute to further strengthening our partnership and developing this sport around the world."
As a sign of Kazakh hospitality and respect, the President of the Tennis Federation of Kazakhstan and Vice President of World Tennis, Bulat Utemuratov, presented David Haggerty with a traditional national shapan.
World Tennis AGM events are being held in Almaty from October 10 to 13. The forum brought together more than 262 delegates from 137 countries.
Today, October 13, the forum's strategic session is taking place — the World Tennis General Assembly, which is discussing priorities for the further development of world tennis.