31 Countries Confirmed to Take Part in Islamic SolidarityGames

Palembang, South Sumatra (Antara) - Thirty-one countries have confirmed to participate in the 3rd Islamic Solidarity Games (ISG) in Palembang, South Sumatra, on September 22-October 1. "31 countries have reconfirmed to the committee regarding their participation while seven other countries still have yet to give their reconfirmation," committee deputy chairman I Joko Pramono said after meeting with officials from the Islamic Solidarity Sports Federation and Supervision and Coordination Committee here on Monday. Representatives from the ISSF include Abby Mubiru (supervision and coordination chairman), Saeed Hussein Abdul Ghaffar (scc member) and Lanny Galikuwa Kimbowa (ISSF Secretariat Support Team). He said the committee would give the seven countries until the end of August to give their confirmation. "One of the seven countries is Malaysia. If no confirmation is received until the deadline they will be declared resigning," he said. Regarding countries that are now dealing with conflicts such as Iraq, Egypt and Syria the committee would give special attention to them. "They deserve appreciation. Although they have problems they like Egypt still want to participate in the ISG. The committee is optimistic no problem will happen because athletes basically have sporting spirit when they are in the field," he said. The general secretary of the South Sumatra chapter of the Indonesia National Sports Committee (KONI), Maryama Bustam, said he is still waiting for confirmation regarding the exact number of the participants. Around 3,000 athletes and officials would take part in the 3rd ISG in which 13 sports branches would be competed. The committee said earlier 26 countries that would take part in the ISG include Brunei Darussalam, Indonesia, Malaysia, Pakistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Algeria, Burkina Faso, Maldives, Morroco, Uganda, Sudan, Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Libya, Oman, Palestina, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Uni Arab Emirate, Azerbaijan, Turkey and Guyana. (*)