First Lady receives EOC’s Order of Merit

/By AzerNews/

By Nigar Orujova

Azerbaijan’s First Lady Mehriban Aliyeva received Order of Merit of the European Olympic Committees on January 21.

The head of the organizing committees of inaugural European Games Baku 2015 and fourth Islamic Solidarity Games was awarded for “contribution to sport and the Olympic Movement”.

The award was handed by the EOC President Patrick Hickey ahead of the EOC’s first Executive Committee meeting of the year at IOC Headquarters in Lausanne, Switzerland.

Aliyeva also received a special Baku 2015 commemorative gold medal.

“Thank you for such a warm welcome here today,” she addressed the meeting. “I am accepting it on behalf of the whole Baku 2015 Games, which marked a historic milestone for sport and Azerbaijan.”

The first lady stressed that Azerbaijan had only two-and-a-half years for preparation but it was a common opinion that the Games became a real success.

Hickey praised Aliyeva for the “hands-on” commitment she showed in the build-up to and during the Games.

International Olympic Committee (IOC) deputy secretary general Pere Miro and an Azerbaijani delegation including Baku 2015 chief executive and Youth and Sports Minister Azad Rahimov were also present at the special ceremony.

Earlier, the EOC’s highest distinction was received by IOC President Thomas Bach.

Baku has hosted the significant sport competition the Baku 2015 European Games this June at the level of Summer Olympics. Today, the city prepares to receive other major sporting events, as the whole infrastructure is available in the Azerbaijani capital. This year, the city will welcome Formula 1 race.

In 2017, Azerbaijan will host the Islamic Solidarity Games that will bring together athletes from 57 countries under the slogan “Solidarity is our power”.