- Established in 1996
- Origin: Its predecessor was the Cold War-era Coordinating Committee for Multilateral Export Controls (COCOM), which was created to restrict exports to the former Soviet Union and Eastern bloc.
- Headquarters – Vienna, Austria
- Aim and Objectives
- To promote “greater responsibility” and transparency among its members in exports of weapons and dual-use goods.
- Controlling the movement of technology, material or components to countries or entities which undermine international security and stability.
- To prevent “destabilizing accumulations”.
- Nature
- It is a voluntary multilateral export control regime.
- Member states exchange information on various issues like transfer of conventional arms and dual-use goods and technologies.
- Membership
- 42 members – mostly from NATO.
- P5 – (except China) of UNSC
- Wassenaar Arrangement Plenary
- The primary is a decision-making body and is chaired on a rotation basis annually.
- The decisions of the plenary are taken by consensus.