A signing ceremony was staged in the Japanese city of Nagoya in the Aichi prefecture where officials gathered to agree terms for the event in three years’ time.

The APC also announced that 18 sports will feature at Aichi-Nagoya 2026 - four fewer than what is on the programme for Hangzhou 2022 - but the disciplines have yet to be confirmed.

It will be the fifth edition of the Games and is expected to see the participation of between 3,600 and 4,000 athletes and officials from 45 nations.

Rashed attended the signing ceremony along with APC vice-president Masayuki Mizuno and chief executive Tarek Souei.

Governor of Aichi Hideaki Ohmura, Mayor of Nagoya Takashi Kawamura, Japanese Para Sports Association (JPSA) President Kazuyuki Mori and Satoshi Murate, secretary general of Aichi-Nagoya 2026, were also among those in attendance.

"This is an important milestone for the Asian Paralympic family as we sign the host city contract for the next Games just few days ahead of the Hangzhou 2022 Asian Para Games," said Rashed.

"This shows the commitment and dedication of our future Games organisers to provide one of the best platforms to our Para athletes.

"While we are thrilled to attend the fast-approaching Hangzhou 2022 Asian Para Games, we can already witness the excitement of the organisers to host the 2026 Games.

"The 2026 Games will be also the biggest after the Tokyo 2020 Games in the country, and we are confident that the organisers are going to deliver a spectacular Games in three years’ time."

The agreement of the Host City Contract for Aichi-Nagoya 2026 comes just three weeks before the stage of the delayed Asian Para Games in Hangzhou.

The Games, which were originally planned to be held last year only to be postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, are set to take place October 22 until October 28.

Officials from Aichi-Nagoya 2026 are expected to receive the official APC flag at the Closing Ceremony in Hangzhou.

"A year-and-half have passed since our announcement of hosting the 2026 Asian Para Games in March 2022, and during that time the environment surrounding the Games has changed due to the impact of COVID-19 pandemic," said Ohmura.

"Despite the difficult circumstances we were able to finish the host city agreement with APC following a lot of discussions and negotiations.

"Our sincere gratitude to APC President and chief executive, JPSA and JPC [Japanese Paralympic Committee] for their kind cooperation.

"Since hosting the Asian Para Games is an important social significance in contributing the realisation of an inclusive society, it’s very important for us to prepare well and host a successful Games to leave a legacy.

"Today signing the Host City Contract is a major milestone and we will continue to do our best to ensure a successful Games."

Aichi-Nagoya is scheduled to play host to the Asian Para Games from October 18 to 24 in 2026.