MOSCOW, September 2. /TASS/. Teams from 45 countries will participate in the 2022 International Army Games (ArMI-2021), Russian Ministry of Defense announced Thursday, adding that 20 countries expressed their interest in hosting the competition on their territory.

"The ArMI organizational committee expects teams from 45 countries to take part in the 2022 competition. Additional 20 countries expressed their interest in hosting the competition on their territory," ArMI chief arbiter Major General Alexander Peryazev said.

The Ministry noted that an organizational meeting for the 2022 event took place on Thursday.

"The event was attended by 45 delegations of Defense Ministries, including from co-organizer states: Armenia, Belarus, Vietnam, Iran, Kazakhstan, Qatar, China, Serbia, Uzbekistan, Azerbaijan, India and Mongolia. The event was also attended by military attaches from countries of Europe, Asia, Africa and Latin America," the Ministry said.

The Ministry informed that the representatives of co-organizer states and the military attaches were presented with a list of organizational and planning events for the ArMI-2022, as well as with proposals for competition locations for the upcoming games, with consideration of the expanding geography.

"The event participants highly praised the organization of the 2021 International Army Games and noted that the ArMI-2022 will become a practical continuation of development of the international military cooperation between the Defense Ministries of the participating states," the Ministry said.

According to the results of the 30 competitions, the Russian team is in the lead this year, followed by Uzbekistan and China.