In 2023, Italian manufacturers were granted 7 new licenses for the export of weapons to Egypt, for a total value of over 37 million euros. Despite the significant contraction of the sales volume- which brought Egypt to drop to the eight position globally for the import of Italian defense systems- this figure is not indicative of a decreasing trend in the bilateral cooperation in the defense production sector, but rather it follows a change of priorities in the defense industry’s strategy.
Our research found evidence of a proliferation of industrial partnerships between Egypt and Italian and European arms manufacturers, which serve the country’s agenda for achieving self-sufficiency in the production of weapons, and becoming itself an exporter to the MENA region and the African continent.
The military equipment that Italy authorized for export in 2023 included smooth-bore weapons with calibers less than 20 mm, other arms and automatic weapons with a caliber of 12.7 mm (ML001), ammunition (ML003), bombs, torpedoes, rockets, missiles, and other explosive devices and charges (ML004), software (ML021), and, notably, technologies related to the development, production, or use of military equipment (ML022).
In July 2024, the Italian Parliament voted against a resolution that called for a suspension of the export of SALW to Egypt in light of the risk of their use in severe human rights violations, citing evidence from our report “Made in Italy to Suppress in Egypt”, because judged it “misaligned with Italy and the EU’s traditional approach to relations with Egypt”.
Our report findings corroborate the need for a suspension of all supplies of arms sales and production lines and technologies to Egypt in light of the country’s disastrous human rights situation, as well as of the economic unsustainability of such investments in the defense sector.
We have reasonable concerns about the potential repercussions on human rights, peace, and security in the MENA region and of the African continent of Egypt’s aspiration to become a regional hub for the production of defense systems, an aspiration that, as our report shows, is receiving full support from the European and Italian arms industries.
The full report is available in Arabic, Italian and English.
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