Wassenaar Arrangement admits India as a member

Multilateral export control regime, the Wassenaar Arrangement (‘WA’) has agreed to admit a new member, India, bringing the total number of members to 42.

The decision to admit the country was made at the WA’s plenary session held in Vienna on 6 and 7 December.

The WA was established in 1996 to promote transparency and responsibility in the transfer of conventional arms and dual-use goods and technologies. Participating states seek to ensure that these transfers do not contribute to the development or enhancement of military capabilities that undermine regional and international security.

‘India’s membership (in the Wassenaar Arrangement) is expected to facilitate high technology tie-ups with Indian industry and ease of access to high-tech items for our defence and space programs,’ said Raveesh Kumar, spokesperson for the Indian Ministry of External Affairs at a press briefing.

India anticipates that the membership will ‘create the grounds for the realignment of India in the export control policy framework’, including eligibility for certain licensing exemptions.

‘India’s entry into the Arrangement would be mutually beneficial and further contribute to international security and non-proliferation objectives,’ Kumar said