Baku hosts opening ceremony of Sea Cup contest

By Azernews

By Vugar Khalilov

Azerbaijan's capital - Baku hosted the opening ceremony of the Sea Cup contest held as part of the International Army games on August 15, Azernews reports, citing the Defense Ministry.

The Defense Ministry leadership, deputies, representatives of the Garadagh District Executive Authorities, the Republican Veterans Organization, the Azerbaijani Caspian Shipping Company, delegates of participating countries, military attachés, local and foreign mass media correspondents, as well as other guests, attended the ceremony.

Following the ceremonial formalities, the speakers welcomed the guests and read out the Defense Ministry's congratulations on the start of the event.

It was underlined that the International Army Games serve the objective of developing military cooperation, friendship among personnel, and enhancing professionalism. The importance of the Sea Cup competition in fostering mutual connections and collaboration among participant countries was also underlined.

During the ceremony, a theatrical mass-artistic show featuring the artists and crew of the army Hazi Aslanov Ideological and Cultural Center was presented.

The seamen will compete for the Sea Cup championship in the Artillery Shootings, Struggle for Ship Survivability and Rescue Training, and Maritime Training segments of the event.

In the same vein, the opening ceremony of the International Army Games-2022 was held in Moscow, Russia, the Azerbaijani Defense Ministry said in a separate report.

The event in Moscow was attended by Russian President Vladimir Putin, Russian Defense Minister General of the Army Sergei Shoigu, delegations from participating countries, military attachés, media representatives, and other guests.

The International Army Games-2022 will take place in the territories of 12 different countries. Servicemen from 34 nations will compete in both individual and team competitions as part of the games. The "International Army Games-2022" are held in the territory of 12 countries. At international contests, servicemen from 34 countries will compete in both individual and team competitions.

Moreover, the opening ceremony of the Tank Biathlon contest, held as part of the “International Army Games-2022”, was held at the Alabino military training ground in Moscow, Russia on August 15.

Following the opening ceremony, the Azerbaijani team's second crew participated in the first division against the Mongolian team.

Azerbaijani servicemen who demonstrated their prowess in the Individual Race stage fared well in the following level of the competition, the Defense Ministry said.

Meanwhile, the tasks were completed at the next round of the Masters of Artillery Fire competition, which was conducted in Otar, Kazakhstan as part of the International Army Games-2022 contests, the ministry reported on August 16.

The tasks were performed at night in the second stage of the tournament, which included teams from Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Belarus, Armenia, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan, Venezuela, and Zimbabwe.

At this stage, the teams overcame various obstacles along the route, using night vision devices in armored combat vehicles, and fired mortars, grenades, and machine guns at illuminated targets.

The Azerbaijani artillerymen destroyed all the targets with accurate fires at this stage as well.

According to stage results, Kazakhstan ranked first, Azerbaijan ranked second, and Russian artillerymen ranked third.