Nursultan Nazarbayev presented Sheikh Ahmad, who is also the President of the Olympic Council of Asia, with the accolade to mark the 25th anniversary of the National Olympic Committee (NOC) of the Republic of Kazakhstan.

It was in recognition of the role Sheikh Ahmad played in the creation of the NOC in 1991, and the support he has since provided in developing sport in the country.

A ceremony took place in capital city Astana which was attended by the NOC's President Timur Kulibayev, as well as members of the Kazakhstan Government and athletes from the central Asian country.

Sheikh Ahmad congratulated Nazarbayev and the NOC for the "excellent progress" they have made since formation.

In that time, Almaty bid for the 2022 Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games, losing out to Chinese capital Beijing.

Almaty also hosted the 2017 Winter Universiade.

"It is a great honour to be in this beautiful country and to be presented with this award," Sheikh Ahmad said.

"Over the last 25 years, I have witnessed the significant development that has taken place here, not just in sport but across all of society. 

"In that time, Kazakhstan has gained excellent experience in hosting world-class events such as the 2017 Winter Universiade and the 2011 Asian Winter Games. 

"There is excellent sporting infrastructure in place with many world-class venues for winter and summer sports. 

"I have no doubt that Kazakhstan would be an excellent host of not just future World Championships but would also be capable of hosting the Olympic Games or Olympic Winter Games."