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Nasscom’s interaction with the Head of Secretariat, Wassenaar Arrangement
Nasscom’s interaction with the Head of Secretariat, Wassenaar Arrangement

February 9, 2024

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On February 6, 2023, Ministry of External Affairs facilitated an interaction between the Head of Secretariat of the Wassenaar Arrangement (WA), and various government agencies and industry associations in India. The engagement focused on strategic trade controls, the role of WA, governments and industry in strengthening the export control regimes.

Background:

Established in July 1996, the WA is a voluntary framework aimed at enhancing transparency and responsibility in transfers of conventional arms and dual-use goods and technologies. India became a member in the WA in December 2017. India was entrusted with Chairmanship of the WA Plenary in 2023. WA members discuss amendments to the WA list of dual-use items (mapped to Category 8 of SCOMET list in India). Based on the approved changes, WA member countries adopt the changes in their national control lists.

Key takeaways from the interaction:

  • The WA Head of State emphasised on the significance of a multilateral approach in regulating export of dual-use items, given that cooperation and consensus among countries globally is effective in ensuring non-proliferation.
  • Recognising the rapid pace of technological advancement and the role of technology in global security, export controls on emerging technologies is a priority area.
  • India was mentioned as a key contributor to discussions at the WA. The WA Head of State mentioned that he looks forward to proposals and non-papers led by India to strengthen the multilateral export control regime.

Way forward:

We continue to engage with the government on ways to strengthen the multilateral export control regime. Specifically, we are working on building a robust understanding of the classification of encryption and information security related items (under Category 5 Part 2 of WA list, and Category 8A502 of SCOMET list). In addition, we have also recommended to the government a bulk licensing policy for cryptography under SCOMET category 8A5 Part 2.

If this topic is of interest to you, or if you have feedback/suggestions on the same, kindly write to priyanshi@nasscom.in and garima@nasscom.in.  


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priyanshi
Senior Associate, Public Policy and Government Affairs

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