I

ndonesia will host the next Asian Games within three years but preparations for the continent'€™s quadrennial multi-sport event still look to be stuttering with the most recent issue being the stalled issuance of a presidential decree.

A presidential decree or instruction needs to be issued immediately to hasten the country'€™s preparations for the games, according to Indonesian Olympics Council (KOI) president Rita Subowo.

'€œThe presidential instruction will cover 14 ministries that are set to work together in supporting the games,'€ Rita said after attending a coordination meeting at City Hall on Tuesday.

Representatives from Palembang, which will co-host the competition with Jakarta, were also present.

Among the relevant ministries, she mentioned sports, tourism, law and human rights and transportation as holding key roles in the games workout.

She said that the presidential instruction would allow each ministry to apportion their respective budgets in order to support the games.

'€œThe Tourism Ministry, for example, could use its regular program to promote the games,'€ she said.

The instruction would also allow the immigration office, which is under the Law and Human Rights Ministry, to start drawing up a policy with a view to providing prospective visitors with easy access to Jakarta for the games.

'€œWe plan to propose a program in which accreditation cards function as free visas for the holders to enter Indonesia. So hopefully we won'€™t hear about any trouble like we did in the past,'€ said Rita, referring to recent cases in which some foreign athletes had to cancel their participation in competitions in Indonesia as a result of visa problems.

'€œSo, before we print the accreditation cards, we have to make sure that everybody'€™s on the same page,'€ she said.

Spokesman for the Youth and Sports Ministry Gatot S. Dewabroto said that he also hoped for an immediate issuance of the presidential instruction.

'€œWhat I know is the draft for the decree has already been available for the past several months. We do need to do something to accelerate the [issuing] process. I believe that the meeting in the City Hall is part of these efforts,'€ Gatot said separately in a phone interview.

He added that the presidential instruction would help settle a debate about a renovation plan for Gelora Bung Karno (GBK) sports complex in Central Jakarta, which will be the main venue for the games.

With the sports complex technically under the auspices of the State Secretariat, the sports ministry will need to have the proper legal authority in order to execute the renovation project.

The 18th edition of the Asian Games will run from Aug. 18 to Sept 2, 2018, and is expected to be attended by some 15,000 athletes from 45 Asian countries.

It will be the second time for Indonesia to host the Asian Games after the Fourth Asian Games in 1962.

Indonesia will organize the Asian Youth Games in 2017, which will be viewed as a test of the country'€™s readiness for 2018.

Indonesia is eying a place in the top 10, which would be a huge leap from the previous games in Incheon, South Korea.

During the 17th Games last September, Indonesia collected four gold, five silver and 11 bronze medals to finish in 17th position.