India to assume chairmanship of Wassenaar Arrangement on January 1, 2023

India joined the Wassenaar Arrangement, a multilateral export control regime, in December 2017 as its 42nd participating state

NEW DELHI: India will assume chairmanship of the plenary of the Wassenaar Arrangement for a year on January 1, 2023, just five years after joining the 42-member voluntary export control regime that monitors transfers of conventional weapons and dual-use goods.

India’s ambassador Jaideep Mazumdar, who is the permanent representative to the UN and international organisations in Vienna, was handed over the chairmanship by Ambassador Eoin O’Leary of Ireland (Twitter/IndiainAustria)

At the 26th annual plenary of the Wassenaar Arrangement held in Vienna during November 30- December 1, Ireland’s ambassador Eoin O’Leary handed over the chairmanship to India’s ambassador Jaideep Mazumdar, who is the permanent representative to the UN and international organisations in Vienna.

India joined the Wassenaar Arrangement in December 2017 as its 42nd participating state. The body is a multilateral export control regime that works to promote transparency and greater responsibility in transfers of conventional arms and dual-use goods and technologies through regular exchanges of information among its members.

The regime is aimed at tracking such transfers and preventing “destabilising accumulations” of conventional arms and dual-use goods, the external affairs ministry said.

The plenary of the Wassenaar Arrangement is the main decision-making body that operates on consensus. As the incoming chair of the body, India “remains ready and committed to work in close cooperation with other members to further the WA goal of contributing to regional and international security and stability”, the external affairs ministry said.

Membership of the Wassenaar Arrangement has also bolstered India’s efforts to gain access to sensitive goods and technologies from leading players in the West.