India assume the charge of the Wassenaar Arrangement 

India assume the charge of the Wassenaar Arrangement : As on January 1, 2023, India will preside over the Wassenaar Arrangement’s plenary for a year. In Vienna, Austria, on November 30 and December 1, 2022, at the WA’s 26th annual Plenary, Ambassador Eoin O’Leary of Ireland handed over the Chairmanship to Ambassador Jaideep Mazumdar, Ambassador and Permanent Representative to UN and International Organizations in Vienna. India joined the Wassenaar Arrangement (WA) on 08 December 2017 as its 42nd Participating State.

January 2023 Current Affairs Quiz

Wassenaar Arrangement 

In Wassenaar, Netherlands, in July 1996, the Wassenaar Arrangement was founded. The 42 members of this voluntary export control scheme. The member countries exchange information on transfers of conventional weapons and dual-use goods and technologies. 

The main aim of the Wassenaar agreement is to discourage its member countries from exporting conventional weapons and dual-use goods and technologies to countries which are a threat to global peace. 

The Arrangement’s governing and decision-making body, the WA Plenary, works by consensus. It is composed of representatives of all Participating States who normally meet once a year at Vienna, Austria.