The official opening ceremony was held at the training ground of the NATO-Georgia Joint Training and Evaluation Centre (JTEC). The participating servicemen were addressed by the Deputy Commander of the Defense Forces, Brigadier General Irakli Chichinadze, and Major Sean D Clark, Representative of the Directorate of the Military Training Cooperation of the Department of National Defence of Canada, emphasizing the importance and purpose of the multinational exercise.

The two-week command-staff exercise is being held at the NATO-Georgia Joint Training and Evaluation Centre (JTEC). The Georgian instructors are involved in the MAPLE ARCH 21 together with their Canadian counterparts. The Canadian, Georgian, Lithuanian, Ukrainian, Polish and Turkish servicemen are taking part in the exercise. The Georgian Defense Forces are represented by various units of the Eastern Command and JTEC personnel. 

The aim of the exercises is to increase interoperability among the participating countries, strengthen defense ties among the partner countries, bring them closer to NATO standards in the planning and implementation of peacekeeping operations, and refine the skills needed to act effectively and make decisions.

MAPLE ARCH is an annual multinational exercise hosted by different countries on a rotating basis. The Georgian Defense Forces participated in the mentioned exercises for the first time in 2018 with the battalion level headquarters.