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Rabat – Morocco has overtaken Algeria to become Africa’s leading importer of French weaponry in 2020, purchasing over 425.9 million euros (MAD 4.5 billion) worth of arms.
While global military expenditure declined last year, as a result of COVID-19, Morocco’s arms expenditure ranked it the third-largest importer of French arms globally. Morocco’s order of 425.9 million euros makes up almost 10% of France’s total recorded 4.9 billion euros (MAD 52 billion) of orders in 2020, suggests the French Ministry of Armed Forces.
The ministry’s latest annual report on arms exports indicates that weaponry orders have dropped by almost half in the last couple of years, falling from 8.3 billion euros (MAD 88 billion) in 2019, to the aforementioned 4.9 billion in 2020.
Africa represents 16% of France’s total orders, with Morocco as its largest customer, followed by Senegal with 217.2 million euros (MAD 2.3 billion) worth of orders and then Algeria with 41.1 million euros (MAD 434 million) worth. Jointly, the Eurozone makes up France’s main trading partner in arms, with approximately 25% of all orders, while the Middle East represents 24% of the total. The Asia-Oceania zone recorded around 22% of total orders.
Read also: Morocco Dominates MENA Region in Purchases of US Arms
France’s biggest individual customer in 2020 was Saudi Arabia, placing 703.9 million euros (MAD 7.4 billion) worth of orders, followed by the US with 433.6 million euros (MAD 4.6 billion) worth of orders, with Morocco taking third place.
Other major importers of French arms were Egypt, with 100.8 million euros (MAD 1.1 billion) worth of arms orders, United Arab Emirates with 129.4 million euros (MAD 1.4 billion) of orders, and Iraq with 117.6 million euros (MAD 1.2 billion) of orders.
Among its Western peers, Australia ordered 199.6 million euros (MAD 2.1 billion) worth of arms, the UK ordered 290.9 million euros (MAD 3.1 billion), and Greece with 282.6 million euros (MAD 3 billion) worth.
