Berlin, 10 April 2024 (dpa/MIA) - After reaching a record high in 2023, export licences for German weapons and military equipment continued to rise at the beginning of this year due to increasing arms deliveries to Ukraine.

From January 1 to March 27, the German government approved the export of military goods worth at least €4.89 billion ($5.31 billion), almost as much as in the entire first half of 2023 with €5.22 billion. Almost three quarters of this (72%) is destined for Ukraine, which is being supported by Germany in its defence campaign against Russia.

The information was released by the Economy Ministry in response to a question from Bundestag member Sevim Dagdelen from the Sahra Wagenknecht coalition, which was made available to dpa.

The most important recipient country after Ukraine was Singapore with €583.9 million. It was followed by India (€143.3 million), Saudi Arabia (€126.4 million) and Qatar (€97 million).

In 2018, the CDU/CSU and SPD government largely halted arms deliveries to Saudi Arabia due to the kingdom's involvement in the war in Yemen and the brutal murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi at the country's consulate general in Istanbul.

Last year, however, the restrictions were eased by the coalition government when the Saudi kingdom withdrew from hostilities in Yemen.

The ministry pointed out that the authorized exports for Saudi Arabia "almost exclusively" concern joint projects with EU and NATO partners.

Last year, authorizations for German arms exports rose to a record €12.2 billion - including €4.4 billion for Ukraine. Germany also exported large amounts of weapons to Israel, particularly in the wake of the October 7 terror attacks and the start of Israel's ongoing military offensive in the Gaza Strip.

Photo: MIA archive