Jakarta (ANTARA News) - A total of 45 Asian countries that have signed up to participate in the 2018 Asian Games have shown great interest in sending athletes to the international sporting event in Jakarta and Palembang.

"From the reports we received, all 45 countries in the Asian region have signed up with 15 thousand athletes and 7 thousand officials in total," Vice President Jusuf Kalla said on Friday.

Because organizers are preparing for the arrival of a total of 15 thousand athletes, Kalla said the committee is trying to adjust by screening participants.

After chairing an Asian Games preparation meeting at the Indonesia Asian Games Organizing Committee (Inasgoc) Office in Senayan on Friday, the vice president said Inasgoc has made a selection to receive the foreign athletes because of the high interest shown by Asian countries in sending their athletes to the games.

Kalla said the number of countries that have confirmed their participation in the event shows they are not worried about security concerns in Indonesia.

"They have no worries, "Kalla said. "(Even) in the case of terrorism, no country in the world is safe from the threat of terror, including in the United States and England."

The Indonesian government and Inasgoc will also increase security arrangements by deploying special teams from the National Defense Forces (TNI) and and the National Police (Polri) to counter possible terror threats.
 Reporting by Fransisca
 

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