India Admitted as 42nd Member of Wassenaar Arrangement

Wassenaar Arrangement is designed to regulate the export of sensitive and critical technologies.

India was admitted as the 42nd member of the Wassenaar Arrangement, a global export control regime on November 7. This development will underscore India’s nonproliferation credentials and open its access to critical technologies. The decision was taken at the two-day plenary meeting of the grouping in Vienna.

In a statement, members of the Wassenaar Arrangement said that, “confirming that the WA’s existing membership criteria continue to apply, WA Participating States reviewed the progress of a number of current membership applications and agreed at the Plenary meeting to admit India which will become the Arrangement’s 42nd Participating State as soon as the necessary procedural arrangements for joining the WA are completed.”



Formally known as the Wassenaar Arrangement on Export Controls for Conventional Arms and Dual-Use Goods and Technologies, the organization is designed to regulate the export of sensitive and critical technologies. India’s admission to the Wassenaar Arrangement came without its signing of the NPT, which incidentally is an essential requirement to be part of the Arrangement. India has sought to project its nonproliferation credentials through its behavior and policies since its nuclear breakout in 1998.

Earlier this year, India had updated its export control lists to bring them in line with international standards, including those required by the Wassenaar Arrangement.

 

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