. 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 aim is also to prevent the acquisition of these items by terrorists. Participating States seek, through their national policies, to ensure that transfers of these items do not contribute to the development or enhancement of military capabilities which undermine these goals, and are not diverted to support such capabilities.
For India, becoming the 42nd member of this group—the other participating states of which include Canada, France, Germany, Japan, Russia, the UK and the US—is a boost to its non-proliferation credentials, and will open doors.
The 23rd plenary session of the WA, held over 6-7 December 2017, concluded with India being admitted as the latest member of this elite group.
Even though India is not a signatory to the Non-Proliferation Treaty on nuclear weapons, it has managed to make its entry into the Wassenaar group, which would enhance its credentials in the field of non-proliferation. India has managed to do that by updating its export control lists earlier this year, to bring it in line with international standards, including those required by the WA.
India’s entry into the WA is also an acknowledgement of its rise as a powerful nation by major powers in the international system. With this, India’s image has been considerably burnished among the comity of nations, in so far as that is achieved through treaty memberships.