The Games are due to take place next year between June 21 and 30 and feature a total of 15 sports consisting of 23 disciplines.

Ten of the sports are set to act as qualifying competitions for the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo.

"Already in August we will start holding test events," Kovalchuk told Belarus television channel ONT TV and as reported by the country's official state news agency Belarusian Telegraph Agency (BelTA).

"Many of the facilities are ready. 

"Some are being added finishing touches. 

"The preparations are on schedule. 

"We have a plan of action. 

"We have qualified specialists."

Representatives from 49 countries are currently in Minsk for a Chef de Missions seminar to inspect the preparations for the Games. 

"All want to show the country in the best possible light and also to show the results in sports," Kovalchuk said. 

"It is hard for me to say which is of these things is more important. 

"As a sports functionary, I think the results in sports are very important. 

"But as a man of the state I believe it is important to show the country to the people who will come to these European Games."

Kovalchuk is optimistic that the event - following the inaugural European Games in Baku in 2015 - will help develop sport in Belarus. 

"Mass sport is very important because it is the people's health and is the health of the entire nation," Kovalchuk told ONT TV and  reported by BelTA.

"The more people engage in different sports, the more they will be distracted from any negative moments in life. the result in the sport is our pride. 

"We represent the interests of the country. 

"We show ourselves on the world stage. 

"We compare ourselves with other countries and show what we are capable of. 

"We have a lot of very talented young athletes who are ready to show these results."