Berlin (dpa) – The German government approved arms exports to the value of 1.16 billion euros (1.26 billion dollars) during the first quarter of this year, the Economy Ministry said on Thursday.
The exports, coming after a record year in 2019, when more than 8 billion euros were approved, was up by just 45 million euros on the same quarter last year.
The figures were released in response to a parliamentary question put by Sevim Dagdelen, a member of the Bundestag for the opposition hard-left party Die Linke (The Left).
They showed a clear increase in the share of controversial exports to so-called “third states,” countries outside the European Union and that are not NATO members, or equivalent countries, such as Australia.
The share of exports of this kind came in at 53 per cent in the first quarter, well up from the 35 per cent recorded in the first quarter of 2019.
According to the Economy Ministry, these exports primarily concerned “single large-volume permits in the maritime area.”
Egypt was the main recipient with exports to the value of 290.6 million euros. Last week, the German government approved a submarine delivery to the government of President Abdel-Fattah al-Sissi.
Egypt was also the third-largest foreign customer for German military hardware last year, taking goods to the value of 802 million euros.
“While the UN calls for a global ceasefire to battle the coronavirus pandemic, the German government continues to pour oil on the flames with its arms sent to crisis regions,” Dagdelen said.
Be the first to comment on "German arms exports permits rise in first quarter"