South Africa blocks arms shipments to Saudi Arabia and UAE

South Africa has stopped shipping arms to countries including Saudi Arabia and United Arab Emirates, in a dispute over a clause in the country's arms shipment protocols which demands that recipients commit to not transferring weapons to third parties. The clause allows South African officials to inspect facilities, but Saudi Arabia and UAE have said the inspections violate their sovereignty and refused to allow them to go ahead. Other countries to refuse the inspections include Oman and Algeria.

Companies such as Rheinmetall Denel Munition, a major South African arms company, have claimed that the dispute is holding up their exports, and the Aerospace, Maritime and Defence Industries Association of South Africa (AMD) said that "the dispute could threaten the sector’s survival". According to Reuters Saudi Arabia and the UAE account for at least a third of South African arms exports, with over 500 billion Rand ($34bn) of exports in 2018.