Stockholm (AFP)

Arms sales to the Middle East have soared in the past five years, while French exports have increased significantly in a market dominated by the United States, according to a report by the Sipri Institute released on Monday.

Worldwide, arms sales, up since 2003, increased by 5.5% in volume over the period 2015-2019 compared to the period 2010-2014, reports the International Institute for Peace Research, based in Stockholm (Sipri).

"On the whole, arms transfers have increased (...), among arms importing countries, demand is high and even seems to have increased slightly," researcher Pieter Wezeman told AFP. at the Institute.

Imports into the Middle East alone increased by 61% over the period, representing 35% of total global arms imports over the past five years.

At the same time, Saudi Arabia has become the world's largest importer of arms, ahead of India, with volumes up 130%.

The United States is the main supplier of the Saudis (73% of imports) followed by the United Kingdom (13%) - and this despite their "vast concerns" displayed regarding the Saudi military intervention in Yemen, notes Sipri .

The fact that so many weapons are exported to the Middle East is particularly "worrying", according to Pieter Wezeman, while the region is experiencing "conflicts, tensions and a potential new escalation of conflicts".

- French exports at the highest -

France moved to third place in the ranking of exporting countries.

Over the past five years, the French armaments market represented 7.9% of total sales worldwide, an increase of 72% compared to the period 2010-2014.

"French arms exports have reached their highest level since 1990 (...), the French arms industry has benefited from the demand for arms in Egypt (26% of its exports), in Qatar (14%) and in India (14%) ", notes the institute.

Deliveries of Rafale combat aircraft to these three countries represented nearly a quarter of total arms exports from France.

The market remains dominated by the United States, which arrogates 36% of market share, ahead of Russia, which shows an 18% drop in sales in 2015-19, to 21%.

In terms of imports, Asia and Oceania retained their place as the leading regions importing arms over the 2015-2019 period, together recording 41% of world imports of conventional armaments by volume.

Arms imports to India, which used to be the world's largest importer, fell 32%, while those from neighboring Pakistan fell 39%.

In the report, the researchers explain that these two nuclear powers - still "largely dependent on imports" - "have long had the objective of producing their own weapons".

© 2020 AFP