Saturday, October 20, 2018

Germany weapon supplier the Saudis

The usual suspects, the US and the UK,  are always associated with the arms supply to Saudi Arabia but the armament industry is global and other nations are involved.

Germany has approved arms exports to Saudi Arabia to the tune of more than €416 million this year. The German goverment gave the green light to arms exports worth some €254 million ($291 million) to Saudi Arabia in the third quarter of this year, the Economy Ministry said.

Arms sales to Saudi Arabia are also contentious because they may contravene a clause in the coalition agreement signed by Germany's governing parties stating that no weapons exports may be approved to any country "directly" involved in the war in Yemen. However, the agreement does exempt countries that had made weapons deals with Germany before the current government took power. The clause was entered in the agreement at the instigation of the center-left Social Democrats (SPD), the junior partners in Chancellor Angela Merkel's coalition.

https://www.dw.com/en/saudi-arabia-is-germanys-second-best-weapons-customer/a-45960734

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