India to assume chairmanship of Wassenaar Arrangement

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What is Wassenaar Arrangement?

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, thus preventing destabilising accumulations.
The body came into being in 1996 to succeed the Cold War-era Coordinating Committee for Multilateral Export Controls.
- The name comes from Wassenaar, a suburb of The Hague, where the agreement to start such a multi-lateral cooperation was reached in 1995.
Members: 42
India: India joined the Wassenaar Arrangement in December 2017 as its 42nd participating state.
The Arrangement is based on five crucial principles:
It contributes to regional and international security and stability.
It promotes transparency and greater responsibility in transfers of conventional arms and dual-use goods and technologies.
It complements and reinforces the export control regimes for weapons of mass destruction and their delivery systems.
It is not directed against any state or group of states.
It uses export controls as a means to combat terrorism.

Q1) What does the Wassenaar Arrangement cover?

The Wassenaar Arrangement (WA) is the first global, multilateral arrangement covering both conventional weapons and sensitive dual-use goods and technologies. It succeeds COCOM, which was disbanded in 1994 after it became apparent that the Cold War’s East-West export controls were no longer appropriate.

Source: All India Radio