to recognize vs recognizing

[anhnha]

France was the first Western state to recognize the newly-formed Syrian National Coalition as the sole representative of the Syrian people and was swiftly joined by Britain, Italy and the European Union.
More: Support for anti-Assad fighters unacceptable: Russia?s Medvedev

My version:
France was the first Western state recognizing the newly-formed Syrian National Coalition as the sole representative of the Syrian people and was swiftly joined by Britain, Italy and the European Union.

Is my version correct and does it have the same meaning as the original?
Thanks.

 

[emsr2d2]

France was the first Western state to recognize the newly-formed Syrian National Coalition as the sole representative of the Syrian people and was swiftly joined by Britain, Italy and the European Union.
More: Support for anti-Assad fighters unacceptable: Russia?s Medvedev

My version:
France was the first Western state recognizing the newly-formed Syrian National Coalition as the sole representative of the Syrian people and was swiftly joined by Britain, Italy and the European Union.

Is my version correct and does it have the same meaning as the original?
Thanks.

Using "recognising" makes it incorrect.

I was the first person in my family to go to Leeds University.
Spain was the first country to bring in laws to deal with fake vodka.
Robin Hood (1922) was the first film to have a Hollywood premiere.

 

[anhnha]

Thanks,
I think I know how to make a similar sentence now but what is the grammar point here?

 

[Rover_KE]

The grammar point is that an infinitive cannot always be replaced with a gerund.

'I like to read in bed' can be rendered as 'I like reading in bed', but the above examples can't be treated in the same way.