Widodo had thrown his support behind the country's bid to host the Games before he became President in October, and his meeting with Sheikh Ahmad provides the highlight of the delegation's visit.

Sheikh Ahmad, the Kuwaiti who also heads the Association of National Olympic Committees, will be joined by leading officials in the Asian sports movement.

They will inspect the progress Jakarta has made to date as the city prepares to host its first Asian Games since 1962.

The delegation, which is also due to include representatives from the three biggest sports at the Games - swimming, athletics and football - will meet with the country's Sports Minister Imam Nahrawi, the Indonesian sports family, as well as the Governors of Jakarta and Palembang in South Sumatra, where some events will take place.

As well as OCA honorary life vice-president Wei Jizhong, secretary general Randhir Singh and director general Husain Al-Musallam, the group will also include Qatar's Asian Athletics Association head Dahlan Al Hamad, and Denmark's Badminton World Federation President Paul Erik Høyer, a member of the International Olympic Committee. 

The idea behind the visit is to gauge how Jakarta plans to stage a successful Games after they stepped in for Vietnam capital Hanoi, who pulled out for economic reasons in April 2014.

They do still have some remaining infrastructure from their hosting of the 2011 Southeast Asian Games and from 1962, including the Gelora Bung Karno Main Stadium, but some venues will have to be built and others need reconstruction.

Jakarta stepped in to host the 2018 Asian Games after Vietnam capital Hanoi pulled out last April for economic reasons ©Getty Images



Indonesian Olympic Committee President Rita Subowo claimed last September that she fully expects new venues to be ready despite the short four-year time frame, after the Games were brought forward a year owing to an Indonesian Presidential Election in 2019.

"We have to work hard to fulfill all requirements," she said.

"We are not going to build many venues because the time is too short, but we will use existing ones, including some big exhibition centres."

In Jakarta, 36 sports will be staged and the largest city in Southeast Asia can expect 15,000 athletes and officials to be in attendance, with roughly 40,000 volunteers set to ensure Indonesia hosts a successful Games.

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