President of the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) Sheikh Ahmad Al Fahad AlSabah on April 23 showed his support for Vietnam’s decision of withdrawing from hosting the 18th Asian Games (ASIAD 18) in 2019.

He had a working session at the OCA headquarters in Kuwait with aVietnamese delegation headed by Minister of Culture, Sports and TourismHoang Tuan Anh, who cited economic difficulties and lack ofexperience in organising big sports events like ASIAD as the reasons forVietnam ’s decision.

The OCA leader said that hesympathises with the difficulties Vietnam is facing and affirmedthat the council will not penalise the country for its withdrawal.

In OCA’s statutes, there is no article stipulating how much a hostcountry of ASIAD has to pay if it withdraws. The penalty is based on thecouncil’s decision after it hears the country’s reasons.

During the working session, Vietnamese officials also informed the OCAleader of their country’s preparations for the 2016 Asian Beach Gamesin the coastal central city of Nha Trang, saying that Vietnampledges to successfully organise the event.

Theofficial decision of OCA on Vietnam’s withdrawal will be announced at anApril 24 press conference which is chaired by the council’s GeneralDirector Husain Al Musallam.

Indonesia and Malaysia, also in Southeast Asia, have expressed their willingness to host ASIAD 18.-VNA