The Ministry of External Affairs on Friday welcomed the decision of the Wassenaar Arrangement to admit India as the 42nd member of the organisation which aims to regulate trade and use of dual use technology.
Officials said that following admission into the club, India will get access to high technology, which will help address the demands of Indian space and defence sectors.
It will also boost New Delhi’s chances of joining the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG).
“The Plenary meeting of the Wassenaar Arrangement (WA) held on 6 to 7 December 2017 in Vienna, Austria, has decided to admit India, which will become the Arrangement’s 42nd participating state. The necessary procedural arrangements for India’s admission will be completed shortly,” the spokesperson for the Ministry of External Affairs said at his weekly briefing.
On the scope of the Arrangement, he said, “India’s membership is expected to facilitate high technology tie-ups with Indian industry and ease access to high-tech items for our defence and space programmes.”
The MEA spokesperson said, “While membership of the Arrangement would not automatically entail any preferential treatment from other WA members, it would create the grounds for realignment of India in the export control policy framework of other WA members, including eligibility for certain licensing exceptions.”
Membership in the Arrangement has been part of India’s quest for membership in the export control organisations.
The Hindu had earlier reported that Russia had expressed optimism about India’s membership in the Wassenaar Arrangement. Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov had said earlier this week that Russian support for Indian membership in the organisation will help bilateral ties, and added, “This is an example and reflection of Russia’s unwavering support to India’s membership of international nuclear control regimes.”
