Montenegro Earns More From Arms Sales

Montenegro’s annual national report on the weapons trade said the country exported arms worth around 6.5 million euros over the last year, a 30-per-cent increase in value in comparison to previous years.

The Ministry of the Economy prepared the report, which BIRN has seen, last week. It contains information on each export licence issued, giving a description of the goods, the number of items involved and the total value.

The list of counties to which Montenegro sold weapons includes Albania, Yemen, Kazakhstan, Peru and Vietnam.

“The highest income from sold weapons is from the United States, about 1.8 million euro,” the report noted.

Montenegro exported ammunition and fuses for munitions, aviation equipment for military use, rockets, other explosive devices and naval equipment.

When it comes to imports of military equipment, Montenegro bought arms worth about 4.5 million euro, mostly from Taiwan, the US, the Czech Republic and Bosnia and Herzegovina.

During the last year, companies from Montenegro also bought weapons from Italy and Ukraine, mostly ammunition and electronic equipment for military use.

The report said 31 companies are registered to trade in controlled goods in Montenegro. The largest importer and exporter is the Montenegro Defence Industry, MDI, a company 100-per-cent owned by the government.

In 2012, local watchdogs accused the MDO of illegally exporting arms to Libya and Syria, but the company denied the claims.  

EU representatives have told Montenegro to harmonize its legislation on the arms trade to match the EU Code of Conduct on Arms Export, which defines common rules on governing the exports of military technology and equipment.