Record year for Walloon arms export

Walloon arms exports closed out a record year in 2014. In the first half of last year, the Walloon Government approved 619 licenses for weapons with a total value of €3.55 billion, reports L'Echo based on figures from Walloon minister-president Paul Magnette.

While the granting of licenses for weapons does not necessarily equate to the delivery of weapons, the newspaper points out that the sum of the licenses granted in Wallonia in the first half of 2014 largely exceeds the amount granted in the entire year 2013, when the Walloon Region approved €459 million worth of weapons spread over 1,348 licenses.

Wallonia exports weapons to 67 countries, including Saudi Arabia, the United States, Germany, the UK and France.