HANOI -- Vietnamese Prime Minister has agreed on studying the hosting of the 31st Southeast Asian (SEA) Games in 2021, said Vietnamese government office on Tuesday.
"Hosting SEA Games 31 in 2021 is the responsibility of Vietnam with the regional community, and will contribute to promoting the country' s image as well as high performance sports," reads the office' s announcement on the government website.
The Vietnamese Prime Minister assigned Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism to coordinate with relevant agencies to build a hosting plan for SEA Games 31 to submit to the Politburo for approval of the hosting.
The plan will include the number of sports and events, which are in the program of Olympic and Asian Games, as well as clarify training programs of Vietnamese athletes for the SEA Games 31.
Regarding infrastructure for the sport event, the Prime Minister asks for using existing facilities, upgrading them if necessary and not to construct new buildings from state budget.
According to former local report, the games are expected to be organized in Vietnam's southern Ho Chi Minh City, the country's economic and sports hub.
The SEA Games has been held every two years, starting in 1959 in Thailand.
According to the Southeast Asian Games Federation (SEAGF)'s Charter, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) members will take turns to host the Games. Vietnam first hosted the games in 2003.
The 28th SEA Games are taking place in Singapore on June 5-16.
