SINGAPORE: The International Olympic Committee (IOC) and the Singapore government have reaffirmed their commitment to host the inaugural Youth Olympic Games 2010 in Singapore.

Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong witnessed the Signing Ceremony of the Host City Contract at the Istana on Saturday evening.

The ceremony was the highlight of IOC President Jacques Rogge's three-day visit to Singapore.

Representing Singapore were the Community Development, Youth and Sports Minister, Dr Vivian Balakrishnan, and Mr Ng Ser Miang, the IOC Executive Board Member.

Earlier in the day, Mr Rogge had called on Mr Lee, where he reaffirmed his confidence that Singapore would be able to deliver the 2010 Games on time.

Mr Rogge had spent the day visiting schools, touring the Olympic Village site as well as the back-up sites.

He told his new Singapore partners that he was pleased with the scale of the facilities for the Games.

They also discussed the legacy impact of having an Olympic event in Singapore.

Dr Balakrishnan said: "He was impressed with the fact that he saw Singaporeans using the facilities which will ultimately be used by the people at the Olympics. So it's on time and on scale. The other point which we discussed was the legacy impact of having an Olympic event in the country.

"The challenge for us is to make sure that every Singaporean feels that they have a sense of ownership for this Games and that Singapore, as a whole, will also be changed by it, in the sense that we will have a chance to play host to the world.

"We would be able to show our best to the world, and we would be able to elevate our standards of graciousness, of the way we treat each other and of the way we treat foreigners and guests in our midst."


- CNA/so