Larsson läser
Janerik Larsson
Janerik Larsson
Tidigare idag publicerades IHS Jane’s den årliga rapporten om vapenhandeln i världen.
Saudi Arabia overtook India in 2014 as the world’s biggest importer of defence equipment, fuelled by tensions in the Middle East, according to a study published Sunday by respected analysts IHS Jane’s.
Global defence trade currently stands at $64.4 billion, said the report from the London-based defence specialists.
The figure has been driven by ”unparallelled demand from the emerging economies for military aircraft and an escalation of regional tensions in the Middle East and Asia Pacific,” IHS expert Ben Moores said.
The report, which examines the defence market across 65 countries, found that Saudi Arabia spent more than $6.4 billion on defence kit in 2014, overtaking India on $5.57 billion.
BBC sände nyss ett inslag om den tyske vicekanslern och socialdemokraten Sigmar Gabriels besök i Riyadh. Eftersom den tyska regeringen beslutat fortsätta vapenexporten till Saudiarabien har Gabriel nu fokuserat på att kritisera behandlingen av bloggaren Raif Badawi.
Nyhetsbyråerna rapporterar:
Social Democrat Gabriel told reporters in Riyadh after his meeting with new King Salman that Raif Badawi’s situation was affecting his diplomatic and trade mission to the Gulf powerhouse.
”I think everything we are doing is helping him, but no one – not even the family – thinks that there will be a quick solution,” Gabriel said.
Ahead of the meeting, Gabriel had said he would point out to the king that the severity of Badawi’s punishment of 10 years in prison and 1,000 lashes is ”unfathomable to us and that it will of course strain bilateral ties.” He added that he also called for the release of Badawi’s lawyer, who has been sentenced to 15 years in prison.
Before leaving Berlin, Gabriel was handed a 1-million-strong E-petition, urging him to lobby Badawi’s case
Also the minister for energy and the economy, Gabriel traveled to Saudi Arabia with almost 80 German business leaders in tow. On Saturday, he held talks with Finance Minister Ibrahim al-Assaf. According to the German government’s statistics agency, Destatis, bilateral trade between the two countries cleared 10 billion euros ($10.8 billion at current exchange rates) in 2014, the lion’s share being German exports.
The visit to Saudi Arabia also courted headlines because of German arms exports to the region, a sensitive topic for many in the country. An opposition parliamentary inquiry this week revealed that Saudi Arabia had been a key customer for German weapons makers in recent years.
Den tyska socialdemokratiska ledningen har valt en tydlig väg: exportjobb är värda mer än ett moraliserande utan minsta förutsättning att leda till andra resultat än förlorade jobb.
Något för Stefan Löfven att fundera över ? Ett samtal med Sigmar Gabriel kanske ?