Rabat now largest importer of major weapons in Africa

Morocco has become the largest importer of major weapons in Africa, with purchases rising over the past five years as the country continues to modernise its military, a report has found. The increase comes amid continuing tensions with neighbouring Algeria, reports RFI. The findings come from the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (Sipri) in Sweden, which tracks global arms transfers. Its latest report shows Morocco’s imports of major weapons rose by 12% between 2021 and 2025 compared with the 2016-2020 period. Major weapons include equipment such as armoured vehicles, fighter jets, warships and missile systems. Morocco now ranks 28th in the world among arms importing countries, as Rabat continues to modernise its armed forces in a region marked by ‘persistent tensions’ with neighbouring Algeria, the report said. Algeria’s own arms imports fell by 78% over the same period. But Sipri urged caution with the figures, noting that Algeria tends to be discreet about its military purchases. The report also lists Morocco’s main arms suppliers. The US accounted for around 60% of deliveries to the country between 2021 and 2025, followed by Israel with around 24% and France with about 10%. The figures point to a recent strengthening of military co-operation between Rabat and Israel, particularly in surveillance systems. Elsewhere in Africa, the trend was very different. Arms imports by other countries on the continent fell by 41% between 2021 and 2025. During that period, the US supplied 19% of weapons deliveries to Africa, followed by China, Russia and France.