Germany: Arms exports in 2024
The German Economy Ministry revealed on Wednesday that the German government approved last year 2024 exports of weapons and military equipment worth a record 13.33 billion Euros, after recording a record in 2023 of 12.13 billion Euros.
This came in the ministry’s response to a request for information from the parliamentarian for the Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance party, Sevim Dağdelen.
The new record is largely due to arms exports to Ukraine, with 8.15 billion Euros worth of exports approved for Kiev.
Singapore came in second place with a value of 1.21 billion Euros, followed by Algeria with a value of 558.7 million Euros, the United States with a value of 319.9 million Euros, and Türkiye with a value of 230.8 million Euros.
German arms deliveries to NATO member Türkiye have been controversial in recent years due to concerns about human rights conditions there and some of the Turkish government’s international actions.
Israel was also among the top ten recipients of German arms in 2024, however, the volume of exports fell by half compared to 2023, reaching 161.1 million Euros.
Because of the Gaza war, arms supply to Israel have become more controversial than those to Türkiye.
The German ruling coalition, formed in late 2021 by the Social Democratic Party, the Greens and the Free Democratic Party, pledged in its coalition agreement to restrict arms exports and introduce legislation to achieve this goal, but the Russia-Ukraine war in February 2022 and its repercussions led to a radical shift in policy.
