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- India assumed Chairmanship of Wassenaar Arrangement (WA) Plenary starting from January 1, 2023.
- India will hold the Chairmanship for one year.
Wassenaar Arrangement (WA)
- About:
- It is a voluntary export control regime formally established in July 1996.
- The name comes from Wassenaar, a suburb of The Hague, where the agreement to start such a multilateral cooperation was reached in 1995.
- It is an elite club of countries that subscribe to arms export controls, similar to the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG), Australia Group (AG) and the Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR).
- Objective:
- The WA monitors transfers of conventional weapons and dual-use goods and technologies through regular exchanges of information among its members.
- Aim:
- To promote “greater responsibility” among its members in exports of weapons and dual-use goods and to prevent “destabilizing accumulations.”
- Two Control Lists:
- To promote transparency, Wassenaar calls on states to make a series of voluntary information exchanges and notifications on their export activities related to weapons and items appearing on the arrangement’s two control lists.
- The Munitions List (Conventional Weapons)
- The Dual-Use Goods and Technologies List
- To promote transparency, Wassenaar calls on states to make a series of voluntary information exchanges and notifications on their export activities related to weapons and items appearing on the arrangement’s two control lists.
- Structure:
- Secretariat is located in Austria’s capital Vienna.
- The plenary of the Wassenaar Arrangement is the main decision-making body that operates on consensus.
- Membership:
- It has 42-member including France, Germany, Japan, Russia, the UK and the USA.
- The European Union and NATO are member states.
- India joined the Wassenaar Arrangement in 2017 as its 42nd participating state.
Importance of the Wassenaar Arrangement
- It contributes to regional and international security and stability.
- The WA promotes transparency and greater responsibility in transfers of conventional arms and dual-use goods and technologies
- The Arrangement complements and reinforces the export control regimes for weapons of mass destruction (WMD) and their delivery systems.
- The WA is not directed against any state or group of states.
- It uses export controls as a means to combat terrorism.
Significance of India’s Chairmanship of WA
- Democratising Access to Processes & Technologies:
- India is expected to play an important role in democratising access to processes and technologies that are likely to play a critical role for the emerging space and defence manufacturers in the country.
- Benefits for India’s Defence Sector:
- Membership of the WA has bolstered India’s efforts to gain access to sensitive goods and technologies from leading players in the West.
- Now, Chairmanship is of significance for India due to the recent spurt in activity and investments in defence and space sector.
- Impetus to India’s Global Credibility:
- This will help establish India as a responsible stakeholder in the global non-proliferation architecture.
Way Ahead
- India should work in close cooperation with other members to further the Wassenaar Arrangement goal of contributing to regional and international security and stability.
- India’s focus needs to be on discussing and resolving global and regional issues.
Slavkov Format
Dual-use
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Source: FE
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