Int'l Army Games Promote Mutual Understanding Among Military Personnel

Jervazio Pinto, the head of Angola's team at the 2016 International Army Games (IAG) said that the drills are very important for Angola in getting experience with heavy weaponry and communicating with the participants of the competitions.

ALABINO (Moscow Region) (Sputnik) — The 2016 International Army Games (IAG) improve mutual understanding and facilitate cultural exchange between the servicemen from all over the world, the head of Angola's team said Saturday.

"The International Army Games are very important for Angola in getting experience with heavy weaponry and communicating with the participants of the competitions. Moreover, it is very important that these games promote cultural exchange and mutual understanding of the military," Jervazio Pinto told reporters.

He noted that having participated in tank biathlon competition within the IAG framework in 2015, the Angolan tankers trained on the T-72 tanks for a half of a year to participate in the 2016 competition.

"We like [the Russian military] equipment very much. It is the best equipment in the world," he stressed.

Russia is currently hosting the IAG, which started earlier in the day. The Games feature the competitions in 23 disciplines. A total of 121 teams from 19 countries across the world partake in the Games monitored by observers from 11 countries. The tank biathlon competition began with a race by the Serbian, Indian, Russian and Kazakh teams at the Moscow shooting range Alabino.