German arms exports hit record after big sales to Egypt

BERLIN (AP) — Germany’s arms exports reached record levels in 2021, largely due to significant sales of maritime and air defense weapons to Egypt. Preliminary figures show Germany exported arms worth $10.65 billion last year. That was an increase of 61% compared to 2020. The ministry said that most of the exports, worth over 9 billion euros, were authorized by the previous government under former Chancellor Angela Merkel. The figures show about weapons worth about 4.3 billion euros were exported to Egypt. Human rights activists have accused the Egyptian government of serious rights abuses and involvement in the conflicts in Yemen and Libya.