MOSCOW, May 31. /TASS/. A total of 97 countries have already confirmed their participation in 2024 BRICS Games, which are scheduled to be hosted by Russia’s Kazan next month, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Chernyshenko said on Friday.

"Russia chairs the BRICS association in 2024, and under such circumstances, this platform is of the priority importance for our country," Chernyshenko said in a statement obtained by TASS.

"The [2024] BRICS Games, which were ordered to be organized following the decree of the Russian President Vladimir Putin, are an important part of our country’s chairmanship in this organization and 97 countries had already confirmed their participation [in the 2024 BRICS Games]," the Russian deputy premier continued.

"The upcoming tournament must be organized at the highest possible level," Chernyshenko added.

The 2024 BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) Games will be held in Kazan on June 12-23 and will feature events in 20 different sports.

In mid-May 2023, Russian President Vladimir Putin instructed the government to submit proposals for organizing and holding the 2024 BRICS Games in Russia.

Oleg Matytsin, who served as the Russian sports minister at that time, emphasized later that the BRICS Games were not meant to rival any other competitions and would not interfere with the international sports calendar as well as with the IOC-approved calendar of events.

In April, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov paid an official visit to China, where he stated that the 2024 BRICS Games and the following World Friendship Games in Russia would be organized based on the principles enshrined by International Olympic Committee (IOC) Charter.