Israel reports record $12.5bn defence exports, 24% of them to Arab partners

Foreign Affairs Minister of Bahrain Abdullatif bin Rashid Al Zayani, Prime Minister of Israel Benjamin Netanyahu, then-US President Donald Trump and Foreign Affairs Minister of the United Arab Emirates Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan attend the signing ceremony of the Abraham Accords, at the White House on September 15, 2020 in Washington, DC [Chen Mengtong/China News Service via Getty Images]

Israel exported a record $12.556 billion in defence products last year, with new Arab partners under the US-sponsored 2020 Abraham Accords accounting for almost a quarter of the business, the Defence Ministry said on Tuesday.

It said the 2022 figures marked a 50 per cent increase over the previous three years and a doubling in volume over the previous decade. Drones accounted for 25 per cent of the 2022 exports and missiles, rockets or air defence systems for 19 per cent, it said, Reuters reports.

Without naming specific clients, the Ministry said 24 per cent of defence exports were to Abraham Accords countries. United Arab Emirates and Bahrain were signatories to those Accords, and Israel often counts Morocco and Sudan as part of them, as well.

Asia and the Pacific accounted for 30 per cent of Israeli defence exports, Europe for 29 per cent and North America for 11 per cent, it said.

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