The 41st Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) General Assembly kicked off on October 4, giving Cambodia an opportunity to show its potential for next year's Southeast Asian (SEA) Games while still in the development phase for them.

The OCA this year also marked a milestone for the annual debate on the Asian Olympic Games.

Vath Chamrouen, secretary-general of the Cambodian SEA Games Organising Committee (CAMSOC), said OCA brought together many countries from across Asia and showed Cambodia's potential for greater participation on the world stage.

“The hosting of this and the future upcoming events will benefit Cambodia a lot, as participating countries will send ministers and members of their royal families and other dignitaries from their national sports. We can see that more than 300 people who came to the first event provided support for our country on the journey to socio-economic development,” he said.

He noted that it was an internal meeting related to sports, but there were also bilateral meetings between ministers and the president of the olympics, who discussed with Cambodia’s ministries of Education, Youth and Sport and Commerce the possibility of exchanging further views and strengthening mutual assistance.

“Once they know our country, they will understand us. These are all gains for Cambodia's image in politics, diplomacy, foreign policy and international athletic competitions as we improve,” he said.

OCA was established on November 16, 1982, in the Indian capital New Delhi. It is currently headquartered in Kuwait and headed by Indian President Raja Randhil Singh, after Prince Sheikh Ahmad Al Fahad Al Sabah resigned in 2019.

OCA is made up of representatives from 45 Olympic committees of countries in Asia, including the National Olympic Committee of Cambodia (NOCC), which became an OCA in 1994.