Walloon Regional Minister-President Adrien Dolimont (MR) has defended the decision to restart sales of machine gun parts to the United Arab Emirates.
On Monday, the new Walloon minister-president has approved the sale, valued at just under €325,000. The new centre-right government’s declared intention is to "no longer penalise Walloon industries in their exports," as stated in the regional policy declaration.
Although he refuses to provide details, the coalition of MR/Les Engagés "fully stands by its position regarding the defence sector," according to Dolimont’s office.
"Given the geopolitical situation and the cutting-edge expertise of several Walloon companies in this field, the government aims to capitalise on this sector for the industrial redeployment of Wallonia."
According to Le Soir, this decision marks a departure from the policy of his predecessor.
Last spring, Walloon arms manufacturer FN Herstal submitted a new export request for spare parts intended for machine guns to be mounted on French Leclerc tanks, designated for Emirati defence.
The UAE has deployed several of these tanks on the Yemeni battlefield, particularly in 2015 and 2018. However, the Saudi-led coalition it is a part of has been accused of committing war crimes against civilians.
