Attending the meeting were 33 delegates – representing 11 National Olympic Committees and Leaders, members of SEAGF Office. The Vietnamese delegation attended the meeting with two members including Mr. Tran Duc Phan, Deputy Director General in charge of the General Department of Sports, Deputy Head of the Organizing Committee of the 31st SEA Games and Mr. Tran Van Manh, General Secretary of the Vietnam Olympic Committee.
Before conducting the Conference, the delegates observed a moment of silence in memory of Associate Professor, Doctor, Labor Hero, Hoang Vinh Giang, former Vice Chairman of Southeast Asian Games, and Vice Chairman of the Vietnam Olympic Committee, who passed away on September 11, 2021 in Hanoi.
Deputy Director General in charge of General Department of Sports, Mr. Tran Duc Phan (right) representing the 31st SEA Games Organizing Committee spoke at the meeting.
Speaking at the meeting, Mr. Tran Duc Phan, representative of the 31st SEA Games Organizing Committee, thanked the delegates for supporting Vietnam in organizing this congress. Regarding the preparation and organization of the 31st SEA Games in Vietnam, the Government has basically agreed with the proposal by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the 31st SEA Games Organizing Committee on allowing the postponement of the organization time until the second quarter of 2022, specifically June. Currently, it is pending the procedure. When there is an official decision, the Organizing Committee will immediately notify the countries.
At the meeting, the Secretary General of the Indonesian Olympic Committee, Ferry J. Kono assessed that discussions on the organization of the 31st SEA Games were still difficult. The reason is that the organizers need to carry out the work under the direction of the Government of Vietnam.
“There has been no decision on the implementation of the SEA Games in Hanoi. The Vietnam Olympic Committee asks SEAGF members to be patient, as it is still asking for direction from the Government. The next meeting is in October, we hope to have a final decision,” Ferry announced.
Last July, the SEAGF decided to postpone the 31st SEA Games due to the complicated development of the Covid-19 pandemic in Vietnam and the high infection rate in most Southeast Asian countries. At this meeting, the reports identifying the level of Covid-19 infection in most ASEAN countries have decreased. Only the Philippines is still high. As a result, the Olympic Committees in Southeast Asia are committed to organizing the many scheduled events.
It is expected that the 31st SEA Games in Hanoi will take place in the second quarter of 2022.
A representative of the Cambodian Olympic Committee reported on the preparations for the 32nd SEA Games. Currently, Cambodia is implementing the construction of the Athletes’ Village, logistics and medical work to organize safe Games. At the Conference, Cambodia also hopes to receive the support of all countries in Southeast Asia in preparation for this event. Therefore, the Cambodian government hopes to receive an early confirmation from Vietnam on the time to hold the 31st SEA Games to prepare in time for the 32nd SEA Games in 2023.
One of the issues of concern at this meeting was the Joint Statement of the ASEAN Sports Ministers on strengthening a solid foundation for athletes in the region at the SEA Games. The purpose of this Statement is to raise the level of athletes in regional and international competitions and to promote the achievement of the ASEAN region in sports competitions.
In the Joint Statement, the Ministers discussed and reached a consensus on several issues such as Support to include more sports of the Asian and Olympic Games at future SEA Games by the selection of sports at the SEA Games that are best suited to the sports of the Asian Games and the Olympic Games; Efforts to work with the Council of Southeast Asian Sports Federations, the National Olympic Committees, and other stakeholders, including governmental and non-governmental organizations of Southeast Asia, aim to create conditions for this Joint Statement; Striving to establish a solid foundation for athletes in the region at the SEA Games, towards the Asian Games and the Olympic Games.
Striving to establish a solid foundation for athletes in the region at the SEA Games, towards the Asian Games and the Olympic Games; better support in the journey of athletes to compete in sports to achieve excellent results; maintaining the commitment that the Southeast Asian sports arena is a playground for quintessence, building relationships and facilitating exchange activities between people of member countries in Southeast Asia.
By N.A