Wassenaar Arrangement. The Wassenaar Arrangement is a voluntary export control regime. The Arrangement, formally established in July 1996, has 42 members who exchange information on transfers of conventional weapons and dual-use goods and technologies. Dual-use refers to the ability of a good or technology to be used for multiple purposes - usually peaceful and military. The Wassenaar Arrangement has been established in order to contribute to regional and international security and stability, by promoting transparency and greater responsibility in transfers of conventional arms and dual-use goods and technologies Wassenaar Arrangement’s Secretariat is in Vienna, Austria. It has 42 member states comprising mostly NATO and EU states. Participating States seek, through their national policies, to ensure that transfers of these items do not contribute to the development or enhancement of military capabilities which undermine these goals, and are not diverted to support such capabilities. The aim is also to prevent the acquisition of these items by terrorists. Participating States are required to report their arms transfers and transfers/denials of certain dual-use goods and technologies to destinations outside the Arrangement on a six- monthly basis. It is a successor to the Coordinating Committee for Multilateral Export Controls (COCOM) from the Cold War era. The Wassenaar Arrangement has control lists that document the dual-use goods and technologies. These lists are updated regularly. The Wassenaar Arrangement Plenary is the decision-making body of the Arrangement. It is composed of representatives of all Participating States and normally meets once a year, usually in December. The position of Plenary Chair is subject to annual rotation among Participating States. In 2018 the Plenary Chair was held by the United Kingdom, and in 2019 the Chair is held by Greece. All Plenary decisions are taken by consensus. India was inducted to the Wassenaar Arrangement on 7 December, 2017 as the 42nd member. India joining the Wassenaar Arrangement implies that India is also recognised to have dual use technology. There is an exchange of notes when countries meet in such arrangements. So, India will gain access to high technology which will help to address the demands of its defence & space sectors. Benefits to India by becoming a member of a Multilateral export control regime: The membership of a multilateral export control regime is beneficial for India due to the following reasons: It would op...
Wassenaar Arrangement. It is a multilateral export control regime on export controls for conventional arms and dual-use goods and technologies. It came into being in 1996 to succeed the Cold War-era Coordinating Committee for Multilateral Export Controls. With the only exception of China, all other permanent members of the U.N. Security Council are signatories of the WA. India became a member of the Arrangement in 2017.
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