Five years after a golden statue of Turkmenistan President Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov on horseback was unveiled in 2015, it was time for his "favorite dog".
President Berdymukhamedov unveiled a 19-ft (6 m) gold statue of his favourite dog breed, Alabai, in the capital city of Ashgabat on Tuesday.
"Turkmenistan. The leader of this state, Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov, solemnly opened a monument for his favorite dog," journalist Andrzej Poczobut tweeted, along with a video of the grand ceremony, aired on a state television channel.
The structure is mounted on a pedestal with a wraparound LED display screen that shows footage of real Alabais at play.
According to media reports, Alabai is a home-bred Turkmen variety of Central Asian Shepherd Dog. Besides the honour of the statue, the President's favorite dog breed is also listed as Turkmenistan's national heritage.
Reportedly, this is not the first time the breed has been honoured by the president. In 2019, he devoted a book to Alabais.
Moreover, the Turkmenistan President's love for mals can be seen from the fact that in the past as well he had given a puppy or a horse to world leaders, including late Uzbek President Islam Karimov and Russian President Vladimir Putin.
( With inputs from ANI )
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