Tracking India's Admission into International Groups & Bodies

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Re: Tracking India's Admission into International Groups & Bodies

Post by srin »

ramana wrote:What are the benefits of India joining Wassenar?
IIRC WA was created against India in 1980s.
So, a while ago, I was working in a desi company for creating a crypto service for financial domain, for which we needed to get FIPS 140-3 compliant HSM (hardware security module) appliance. We spoke to a desi distributor for Thales and they said it takes 2 months to get the appliance. The reason: it is imported from UK and we need to give all sorts of declarations to UK Govt that it won't be used for mil purposes. Those guys didn't mention Wassenar, but reading up on my own, it was clear that advanced crypto modules are covered under Wassenar.

It is a class system, perpetrated by terms like "dual use" which can mean anything.
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Re: Tracking India's Admission into International Groups & Bodies

Post by disha »

^ On a different note., it is not too difficult to create a FIPS-140-3 Compliant HSM., India has deep pool of mathematicians and world class colleges. They just need to be focused better. So yes, now importing a FIPS-140-3 Compliant HSM will be easier. Exporting one too will also be easier!

At the same time being part of Wassenar agreement (or arrangement) helps. India can easily import/export "dual use goods and technologies"., this allows ISRO to mount a communication satellite for US or mount an highly encrypted intercommunication channels on its own Sats for example.

Here is a list of items that can be now easily traded: http://www.wassenaar.org/wp-content/upl ... t-Corr.pdf

For example:
Spin-forming machines and flow-forming machines, which, according to themanufacturer's technical specification, can be equipped with "numerical control" units or a computer control and having all of the following: a. Three or more axes which can be coordinated simultaneously for "contouring control"; and b. A roller force more than 60 kN.
Some yak-herders will be happy at the prospect of using the above spin control machines to milk their yak herds.

This is a generally informative article: https://swarajyamag.com/insta/wassenaar ... -important

Added later: India being part of MTCR and now WA basically gives it the trump card to play against China's stonewalling of India's NSG membership. Pun unintended.
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Re: Tracking India's Admission into International Groups & Bodies

Post by Amoghvarsha »

Is China even interested in joining MTCR or Wassenar arrangement (
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Re: Tracking India's Admission into International Groups & Bodies

Post by SSridhar »

Wassenaar Arrangement Admits India as Its 42nd Member - The Diplomat
To be admitted to the Arrangement, states must meet certain criteria, including acquiescence to a range of global nonproliferation treaties, including the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty (NPT).

India’s admission to the Arrangement is not predicated on this requirement; New Delhi has never signed the NPT and has sought to burnish its nonproliferation credentials through its behavior and policies since its nuclear breakout in 1998.


Though admission requires consensus, the United States’ backing for Indian admission into the Arrangement — reaffirmed prominently by the Obama administration — helped New Delhi’s case.

India’s admission to the Wassenaar Arrangement was in part facilitated by China’s nonparticipation in the Arrangement. (Beijing does informally maintain export control standards largely in line with those required by the Arrangement.)

India’s membership in the Wassenaar Arrangement partly hinged on a lack of consensus, with Italy having objected to New Delhi’s participation until the two countries repaired their bilateral relationship this year following a multiple-year spat over the fate of two Italian marines who killed two Indian fishermen in 2012.

Earlier this year, India had updated its export control lists to bring them in line with international standards, including those required by the Wassenaar Arrangement.
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Re: Tracking India's Admission into International Groups & Bodies

Post by Vips »

^^ China will not allow India to play the membership of WA and MTCR as a trump card against it. There are no benefits for it to join these clubs as it has access to all dual use technologies due to its economic heft or through reverse engineering and brazen IP theft. The day China wants to join these clubs it will have the club members change the rule from consensus to majority approval. It will do so by starting to export dual use technologies to other countries till the member nations realize that having China inside the tent is more constructive than it being outside it.
Of course the flip side for it is changing the admission rules would enable India to join NSG. So i do not think China will show any interest at all to join MTCR or WA or even the Australia group in the near future. It will not give any opportunity to rest of the world to either lose face or limit its own nuisance creating options.
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Re: Tracking India's Admission into International Groups & Bodies

Post by SSridhar »

Vips, I don't know whether China has applied to WA for membership; but, its MTCR application is pending for over a decade now. It has not withdrawn its application which means it continues to remain interested. I do agree that it is a disruptive force and hopes to play on the fears of others to get its things done. However, others are getting wiser too.

If it has to alter the rules from 'consensus' to 'majority', even that would have to be a consensual approval first !!

It can have a diplomatic success with middle-level and vulnerable-nations like Greece etc. through its tactics, but not much beyond these nations.
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Re: Tracking India's Admission into International Groups & Bodies

Post by Vips »

Thanks Sridharji.
It is interesting that China has applied for MTCR membership. If it has not withdrawn the membership bid , it is also not actively pursuing it. It will be fun now to see how it will take India's likely objection to its bid if it wants to seriously become a member as without India's assent it cannot become one.

Another tidbit about the likely benefit for India joining WA:

For the past many years, India has been a coveted market for foreign defence companies, given the country's desire for military modernisation and upgradation of its internal security apparatus. Yet, many of these companies were hamstrung in their approach because of their respective national governments' compliance with the multilateral arms control regimes, such as WA.

Part of the four important arms control regimes – rest being the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG), Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR) and Australia Group (controlling the spread of chemical and biological weapons technologies) – membership of WA will now give India access to a host of conventional arms and dual-use goods and technologies. This includes, most importantly, a host of 'intrusion software' technologies, which form a part of the mass-surveillance systems.

As this report from points out, WA in December 2013 had amended its export control clauses to deny non-member states many new technologies, including 'intrusion software'. While this was aimed at avoiding the misuse of powerful surveillance technologies by authoritarian and dictatorial regimes, these amendments ended up hurting India as well, which was in the process of strengthening its domestic surveillance regime, post the 2008 Mumbai attacks
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Re: Tracking India's Admission into International Groups & Bodies

Post by disha »

It is a Desi tendency to do rona-dhona on epochal moments!

The implications of WA will be seen a decade from now., first subtely & then like a hockey stick going up.

Take the example of missiles., just 2 decades back baki missiles were taller fairer & tighter assed & some members in very late 90s here believed that as well., wagging a finger at everyone who would state otherwise and pointing out to how behind we are in the missile tech with our short, dark and rice eating missiles.

Now everybody is gaga over chinese fatbox which is definitely not seen but captured in grainy photos. And their exemplary space program & their immense role in saving matt damon's musharaf from mars. Just to state a few real examples.
Last edited by disha on 08 Dec 2017 23:33, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Tracking India's Admission into International Groups & Bodies

Post by Suraj »

Good news indeed. India's own NSG arguments should emphasize that China's argument's have no merit because of their lack of non-proliferation credentials on account of not having membership at MTCR and WA, which they should be earnestly encouraged to apply for at the earliest convenience to them.
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Re: Tracking India's Admission into International Groups & Bodies

Post by SSridhar »

It is a Chinese characteristic to aim for multiple benefits in every action by shaping up the events in a particular way. Similarly in the NSG issue as well. Of course, it wants to prevent us from taking our rightful place in all fora by opposing our membership (APEC, ASEAN, UNSC etc). So also in NSG. Opposition to India in NSG also brings Pakistan that much closer to it politically. It then bats for Pakistan's inclusion based on 'common principles' thus appearing to oppose India only on principles and projecting itself as a principle-based player. The other aim for angling for its cat's paw to be included in NSG is to checkmate India. By preventing India from NSG, it wants to ensure that India remains as an international untouchable in nuclear matters and does not allow the de facto to become the de jure status. As a disruptive force, it also wanted a serious division within NSG.

More importantly, the Chinese position in NSG might be because of a conclusion it has reached regarding its own membership in MTCR, WA and AG. It might have realized that it has no chance in these groups and could therefore be using Indian membership as a bargaining chip for its entry into these groups.
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Re: Tracking India's Admission into International Groups & Bodies

Post by Guddu »

So how far are we from membership in the Australia Group
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Re: Tracking India's Admission into International Groups & Bodies

Post by SSridhar »

Guddu wrote:So how far are we from membership in the Australia Group
I would think it should happen quickly & logically now.
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Re: Tracking India's Admission into International Groups & Bodies

Post by SSridhar »

Here we go on the AG admission.

India enters non-proliferation regime Wassenaar Arrangement, slap on China for NSG stand - ToI
In the coming months, India expects to be included in the Australia Group as well, leaving the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) - where it faces stiff opposition from China - as the last non-proliferation regime that India expects to enter.
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Re: Tracking India's Admission into International Groups & Bodies

Post by Gagan »

Are indian news outlets daft?
India gets admitted to Wassenaar, what does it have to do with China? Why drag china into this?
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Re: Tracking India's Admission into International Groups & Bodies

Post by Suraj »

It is a Chinese characteristic to aim for multiple benefits in every action by shaping up the events in a particular way. Similarly in the NSG issue as well. Of course, it wants to prevent us
The funny thing is that they’re progressively being cornered into being just an NSG talisman holder as we join other orgs and progressively pincer move upon them since *they* seek to join the ones we have already joined .
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Re: Tracking India's Admission into International Groups & Bodies

Post by arun »

X Posted from the India-Russia: News & Analysis thread.

Regards the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG), the stench of Russian duplicity hangs heavy in the air.

In the Terrorist Fomenting Islamic Republic of Pakistan Russia’s envoy says Russia supports criteria-based approach for inclusion of non-NPT states in NSG which is the Peoples Republic of China stratagem to to block India by promoting the Islamic Republic’s candidature.
Russia not opposed to Pakistan’s NSG candidature: envoy

ISLAMABAD: Russia is not opposed to Pakistan’s Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) candidature and has no intention to block it, Russian envoy Pavel Didkovsky told a conference in Islamabad on Friday.

Speaking at the seminar on ‘Disarmament, Non-Proliferation and Strategic Stability’ that had been organised by Strategic Vision Institute (SVI), Pavel Didkovsky, first secretary at Russian Embassy, underlined the possibility of a criteria-based approach for inclusion of non-NPT states in NSG. ……………………….

Pakistan Today
Earlier in India Russia's deputy foreign minister Sergey Ryabkov was reported as indicating that Russia was not for a criteria-based approach for inclusion of non-NPT states in NSG . Clearly that was not the case:
NEW DELHI: Even as China continues to stall India's Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) membership+ , Russia has come out strongly in support of India saying that India's application cannot be "interlinked" with that of Pakistan and that Moscow is discussing the issue with Beijing at different levels. China has favoured a criteria-based approach for expansion of the 48-member group, which controls international nuclear commerce, instead of one based on merit, in what India sees an attempt to draw a false equivalence between India's case and Pakistan's.
The issue again came up for discussion on Wednesday as Russia's deputy foreign minister Sergey Ryabkov met foreign secretary S Jaishankar. "We recognise that at the moment there is no unanimity on Pakistan's application and that the same cannot be interlinked with India's," said Ryabkov, after his meeting with Jaishankar.
This is probably the first time that a top Russian diplomat has publicly drawn attention to the futility of juxtaposing the 2 cases. "We know about the difficulties involved but unlike some other countries, who only speak, we are making practical efforts...we are discussing it with China at different levels,'' he added.

Times Of India
India will do well to take the following part of Ryabakov’s statement with an ocean load of salt:
While Ryabkov admitted that Russia was looking to build ties with Pakistan, a country he described as taking great interest in multilateral forums, he said Russia had no ``hidden agenda'' in its dealings with Islamabad. ``I can assure you that Russia's ties with no country in the world will come at the expense of its relationship with India,'' said Ryabkov.

Times Of India
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Re: Tracking India's Admission into International Groups & Bodies

Post by Trikaal »

I don't understand what is going on in the minds of Russian policy makers. They are damaging relations with India for a non entity like Pakistan. If it was for China, it would be understandable, since they are a large economy and market. But damaging relations for Pakistan just seems stupid. If their intention is to cow down India and stop us from getting closer to US, they are going about it the worst possible way. If there is one thing about Indians, it is that we don't listen to anyone, and the more someone tries to mould us, the more we will oppose.
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Re: Tracking India's Admission into International Groups & Bodies

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Trikaal wrote:I don't understand what is going on in the minds of Russian policy makers. They are damaging relations with India for a non entity like Pakistan. If it was for China, it would be understandable, since they are a large economy and market. But damaging relations for Pakistan just seems stupid. If their intention is to cow down India and stop us from getting closer to US, they are going about it the worst possible way. If there is one thing about Indians, it is that we don't listen to anyone, and the more someone tries to mould us, the more we will oppose.
Trikaal, this is not the thread to continue this discussion. I have replied in the Russia thread.
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Re: Tracking India's Admission into International Groups & Bodies

Post by SSridhar »

Right Connections - Martand Jha, Business Line
India has been admitted as the 42nd member of the Wassenaar Arrangement, (a global export control regime. Formally known as the Wassenaar Arrangement on Export Controls for Conventional Arms and Dual-Use Goods and Technologies, the organisation is designed to regulate the export of sensitive technologies that could possibly lead to “destabilising accumulations”.

On December 7, it was decided by the members of Wassenaar Arrangement in their plenary meeting in Vienna that India would be the latest entry into this elite group.

India’s formal entry into this group would further boost its image in the international arena. Wassenaar is a place in Netherlands where this multi-lateral export control regime was established way back in 1995.

The aim behind its establishment was 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.

Its (WA) member countries are required to ensure that transfers of these items do not contribute to the development or enhancement of military capabilities which undermine these goals. The aim is also to prevent the acquisition of these items by terrorists.

Even though India is not a signatory to the Non-Proliferation Treaty, 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 Wassenaar Arrangement.

To be precise, India approved SCOMET (Special Chemicals, Organisms, Materials, Equipment, and Technologies) items, mandatory under the Wassenaar Arrangement. Through the revised list of items, India also seeks to send a message about its larger commitment to non-proliferation.

With this development, India’s has built a strong case for its entry into the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG)
, which was opposed by China last year. What is noteworthy here is the fact that China is not a part of Wassenaar Arrangement, which made India’s entry to the group a bit smoother. This has been a big diplomatic triumph for India as it is being supported by countries like the US, Russia, France and Germany.

Currently, out of four major non-proliferation groups in the world i.e. Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR), the Australia Group, the Wassenaar Agreement and the NSG; India has gained membership to two of them, one being Wassenaar Agreement and the other being MTCR where India gained entry last year as 35th member of the group.

Being a responsible state in the international system, India is eyeing to play a more proactive role globally. Being a part of major groups like WA enhances India’s chances to get a permanent seat in United Nations Security Council in future.

In sum, the Wassenaar Arrangement is a stepping stone for India to build up its capabilities as a counter-weight to countries such as China and its allies like Pakistan who are serious challengers to India as a power in South Asia.

The writer is a JRF at School of International Studies, JNU, Delhi.
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Re: Tracking India's Admission into International Groups & Bodies

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Boost for NSG membership, as India gains entry into 'Australia Group' - ToI
India today become a member of the 'Australia Group' (AG), a move that is expected to raise New Delhi's stature in the field of non-proliferation and also help it acquire critical technologies.

India is now a member of the Missile Technology Control Regime+ (MTCR), the Wassenaar Arrangement+ (WA) as well as AG, three of four non-proliferation regimes. The only one remaining is the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG). India has managed entry into all three groups despite not being a signatory to the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), and despite China's attempts to stonewall its bid to enter the NSG.


AG is a cooperative and voluntary group of countries working to counter the spread of materials, equipment and technologies that could contribute to the development or acquisition of chemical and biological weapons by states or terrorist groups. In December, India gained entry into WA. In June last year, India joined the MTCR, another key export control regime, as a full member.

Significantly, China, which stonewalled India's entry into the 48-nation NSG is not a member of the WA or the MTCR {and also AG} , both of which play a significant role in promoting transparency and greater responsibility in transfers of conventional arms and dual-use goods and technologies.

Since its civil nuclear deal with the US, India has been trying to get into export control regimes such as the NSG, the MTCR, the Australia Group and the Wassenaar Arrangement that regulate the conventional, nuclear, biological and chemicals weapons and technologies.
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Re: Tracking India's Admission into International Groups & Bodies

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India admitted to Australia Group - Kallol Bhattacherjee, The Hindu
India on Friday joined the Australia Group, saying the membership will be mutually beneficial. The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said India’s entry into the group, which aims to prevent proliferation of biological and chemical weapons, would ensure a more secure world.

“The Australia Group decided to admit India as its 43rd participant. India would like to thank each of the participants. Its entry would be mutually beneficial and further contribute to international security and non-proliferation objectives,” MEA spokesperson Raveesh Kumar said, praising the role of the former head of the group Jane Hardy. Earlier, in a separate statement, the Australia Group said India’s membership would help to counter the “spread of materials, equipment and technologies that could contribute to the development or acquisition of chemical/biological weapons.”

Diplomats said the entry is a show of support from the international community for India’s non-proliferation records.


“India’s entry into the Australia Group shows our export controls and safeguards for biological and chemical agents, equipments and technologies meet the benchmarks established by the international community,” said Rakesh Sood, a former Special Envoy of the Prime Minister for Disarmament and Non-Proliferation. India joined the Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR) in 2016 and the Wassenaar Arrangement (WA) last year.
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Re: Tracking India's Admission into International Groups & Bodies

Post by Trikaal »

3 down, just 1 left. Now China will find it even more difficult to justify blocking India though I doubt things like reason matter to those two iron brothers.
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Re: Tracking India's Admission into International Groups & Bodies

Post by SSridhar »

It doesn't matter to China how strong and logical Indian position is. Its aim, as far as India is concerned, is something else.
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Re: Tracking India's Admission into International Groups & Bodies

Post by disha »

China's window of opportunity for a "plan for India" is rapidly closing. Within a decade, that door will be shut.

Right now, if China does not want to fall behind in technology which is getting more and more interdependent, it needs to toe a line which leads to cooperation with India rather than antagonizing it.

NSG or no-NSG.
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Re: Tracking India's Admission into International Groups & Bodies

Post by rsingh »

What do we gain and what do we loose?. A bit of sovereignty is lost every time we sign a treaty. Its give and take.
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rsingh wrote:What do we gain and what do we loose?. A bit of sovereignty is lost every time we sign a treaty. Its give and take.
Freedom is an illusion. You are only as free as you are strong and rich. If you are weak, even if you haven't signed any agreements, you are still enslaved to the whims of the strong. If you are poor, you are controlled by the wallets of the rich no matter how much you hate it.
In an ideal world, India wouldn't need these agreements. We would have brilliant minds working together and creating cutting edge technology and we wouldn't need other countries to sell it to us. Other countries would be dependent on us to buy these tech. Unfortunately we are not in an ideal world, we lag behind the world in many arenas of tech, we have not managed to make them and the import restrictions have been applied on us, limiting our sovereignty and hurting us even when we had signed no agreements.
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Re: Tracking India's Admission into International Groups & Bodies

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Significance of India joining the Ashgabat Agreement - P.Stobda, IDSA
India recently joined the Ashgabat Agreement, which was instituted in April 2011 to establish an international multimodal transport and transit corridor between Central Asia and the Persian Gulf. The Agreement was first signed by Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Iran, Oman and Qatar on 25 April 2011. While Qatar subsequently withdrew from the agreement in 2013, Kazakhstan and Pakistan joined the grouping in 2016. The Ashgabat Agreement came into force in April 2016. Its objective is to enhance connectivity within the Eurasian region and synchronize it with other regional transport corridors, including the International North–South Transport Corridor (INSTC).

At its first meeting held in March 2017, the Working Committee of the Ashgabat grouping discussed operational issues, including details of the routes through participating countries. The Parties submitted a number of proposals to the Depository State (Turkmenistan) to be considered for approval by the Coordinating Committee. The Coordinating Committee has a list of road and rail routes that are part of a single transport transit corridor within the framework of the Ashgabat Agreement.

Among other things, the regional transport grouping is considering measures to create a "green" corridor for vehicles to reduce the time spent at railway checkpoints for replacing wheel sets, create favourable conditions and effective schemes for storing and handling cargo, and use of berths of sea ports. In order to increase the attractiveness of the routes as well as the volume of transit cargo, the group considered the issue of having a unified tariff for transit goods by rail.

On March 23, 2016, India had formally conveyed its interest in acceding to the Ashgabat Agreement. On February 1, 2018, Turkmenistan, as the depository State of the Ashgabat Agreement, informed India ‘that all the four founding members have consented to the accession of India (to the agreement).” India will now provide information to the Coordinating Committee with respect to all the details on taxes, fees, tariffs and other payments levied at the ports and checkpoints.

India’s entry into Ashgabat Agreement comes a month after the inauguration of the first phase of the Shahid Beheshti terminal at Chabahar port on December 3, 2017
which it had financed to the tune of $85 million. With the commissioning of the Shahid Beheshti terminal and India’s joining of the Ashgabat Agreement, a greater prospect now opens up for enlarging both the operational and practical scope of Chabahar to become a vital gateway and the shortest land route to Central Asia.

Here, it is important to note that the operation of a multi-purpose terminal at Chabahar including India’s plan to build a 610 km north-south railway from Chabahar to Zahedan couldn’t have been realised unless India joined a Central Asian-led transport mechanism.

Connecting to Afghanistan via Chabahar has been essential for India and it has already sent shipments of wheat to Afghanistan through Chabahar port. It seems Afghanistan has already shifted 80 per cent of its cargo traffic from Pakistan’s Karachi port to Iran’s Bandar Abbas and Chabahar ports. More Afghan trade is expected to eventually shift to the Chabahar Port and will drastically reduce Afghanistan’s dependency on Pakistan for transit of Afghan goods. The Afghan trade through Chabahar port is expected to touch $5 billion worth – once it starts feeding the International North-South Transport Corridor (INSTC).

Its accession to the Ashgabat Agreement would enable India to utilise the existing transport and transit corridor to facilitate trade and commercial interactions with the Eurasian region. Further, this would synchronise with India’s efforts to implement the INSTC for enhanced connectivity.

The Iran-Turkmenistan-Kazakhstan (ITK) railway line will be the major route under the Ashgabat Agreement. It had become operational in December 2014 and has also been included as part of the India-funded INSTC. Therefore, the Ashgabat Agreement and INSTC will be easily synchronized. The operationalisation of the INSTC is inching closer to becoming a reality. It encompasses ship, rail and road routes connecting India with Russia, Central Asia and Europe via Iran.

In general, joining the Ashgabat Agreement would make it easier for India to reach out to Central Asia which houses strategic and high-value minerals including uranium, copper, titanium, ferroalloys, yellow phosphorus, iron ore, rolled metal, propane, butane, zinc, coking coal, etc. Kazakhstan alone wants to increase its non-oil exports by 50 per cent by 2025. And, without direct transport access, India cannot procure the Central Asian riches needed for its manufacturing economy.

India’s current trade with Central Asia is minimal at a little over $1 billion and is not growing much. The volume of trade with the region accounts for a mere 0.11 per cent of India’s total trade. And, India’s share in Central Asia’s total trade is only about one per cent. Only by improving transport connectivity can the prospect of commercial ties with the region be enhanced.

In the backdrop of joining the Ashgabat Agreement, India now must enlarge the strategic role of Chabahar port for evolving an integrated transportation network involving both the INSTC and the proposed transit corridor to Central Asia. In fact, the Chabahar-Iranshahr-Zahedan-Mashad corridor is the ideal route to connect to Sarakhs (Turkmen border). India has already committed to lay a railway track from Chabahar to Zahedan. Chabahar port can be connected with INSTC if the line were to be further extended till Mashad. In fact, Chabahar-Iranshahr-Zahedan-Mashad can be linked to the existing Eurasian railway line which connects other parts of Central Asia. Similarly, this route can hook onto the ongoing corridor plans and programmes like Transport Corridor Europe-Caucasus-Asia (TRACECA), Central Asia Regional Economic Cooperation (CAREC) and other multilateral transport initiatives in the region.

When it comes to Eurasia, container transport plays a significant role, and for India to join the competitive situation in the Euro-Asian transit system, active participation in transportation projects becomes essential. India’s connectivity approach need not be limited to increasing trade and commerce but should aim to enhance investment and services, interlinking sources of raw material, centres of productions and markets between India and Eurasia. For example, a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) between India and Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) could spur the unhindered flow of raw materials as well as inflow of capital and technology through new industrial infrastructure along Chabahar and INSTC routes.

Apart from the decision to accede to the Ashgabat Agreement, India has already acceded (on June 19, 2017) to the Customs Convention on the International Transport of Goods Under Cover of TIR Carnets (TIR Convention, 1975) which is used for international carriage of goods. TIR Carnets provide the principal security for movement of transit cargo. It is an internationally recognised harmonised customs transit document that accompanies the truck driver and the cargo across customs points from origin to destination. TIR facility is cost-effective. It reduces administrative and financial burdens with one international guarantee for a transport operator, replacing costly guarantees in each country of transit.

TIR journeys have become even faster and more efficient with IRU’s TIR-EPD, a free-of-charge web-based digital platform with applications available in 18 languages that allows transport operators to send advance information on goods transported under the TIR procedure. The eTIR system gives real-time data availability, online monitoring, improved reliability and flexible guarantees. Central Asian states are already members of the TIR Convention.

India has also signed a bilateral agreement with Tajikistan in 2015 to enhance connectivity. Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan are already members of the INSTC. India’s participation in Eurasian connectivity projects through the Ashgabat Agreement will serve to address the integration process under the EAEU and Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) in more viable ways.
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Re: Tracking India's Admission into International Groups & Bodies

Post by shashankk »

Backing New Delhi's quest for a permanent seat in the UNSC, Rouhani asked why India, a nation with population of 1.3 billion, was not a member of the powerful club.
"Why doesn't India, with a population of 1.3 billion, have veto rights? Those who had atomic bombs were given veto rights," Rouhani said, emphasising on having ethics in foreign policy as against military might.
Veto right in the UNSC lies with the US, the UK, China, France and Russia.

https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/ind ... 962918.cms
Vips
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Re: Tracking India's Admission into International Groups & Bodies

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India to join multilateral lender EBRD.

India has got the go-ahead to join the European Bank of Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), after shareholders of the London-based multilateral lender agreed to the country becoming its 69th member, enabling Indian companies to undertake joint investments in regions in which the EBRD operates.

“This is an important step in the relationship between the EBRD and India, allowing us to build further on already very close ties,” said the development finance institution’s President Suma Chakrabarti.

Set up in 1991, based on a proposal by former French President Francois Mitterand, the bank’s initial focus was helping central and Eastern European nations reconstruct their economies in the post-Cold War era.

It remains committed to furthering the development of “market-orientated economies and the promotion of private and entrepreneurial initiative.” Other members who receive investments include Mongolia, Turkey, Egypt, Cyprus, Greece and Lebanon, among a total of 38 member states. Others including China, Russia, the U.S., U.K., and France are stakeholders, whose companies are able to invest in EBRD projects, but do not receive financing for domestic projects.

While Indian businesses have already cooperated on EBRD projects worth some €982 million, the hope is that the membership, which will see India take up a small stake in the bank, would spur further investment by Indian firms in a range of sectors from solar to utilities, providing them access to fast growing markets. It will also enable Indian citizens to work for the organisation.

India’s stake will also give it a say in the direction of the EBRD’s future work. The EBRD’s largest shareholder is currently the U.S., while other G7 nations also hold significant stakes.

Following the approval of Indian membership, India is expected to join EBRD within the first half of the year.

The process for India’s approval moved swiftly: from its formal application on December 18, to the decision going to the board of directors in late January.

The EBRD works with the private sector and also local governments in the provision of services and infrastructure across 38 nations – with projects ranging from transport provision to agribusiness, heating, waste management, to renewable energy.

In 2017, the EBRD signed a pact with the International Solar Alliance, which was unveiled in 2015 in Paris.
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Re: Tracking India's Admission into International Groups & Bodies

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India working on strategy to make another bid for NSG membership,

India is mounting another strong bid for admission to the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG), an elite club of 48 countries that deal with fissile materials and nuclear technology, which is set to meet in June and December this year, three persons familiar with the hectic diplomatic activities on the matter said on condition of anonymity.

The NSG is the only major export control regime India is not part of after its entry into the Australia Group (January 2018), the Missile Technology Control Regime (June, 2016) and the Wassenaar Arrangement (December 2017).

Being a member of the NSG would be shot in the arm for the Narendra Modi government and a major policy achievement ahead of the next general elections in 2019.

The issue of India’s entry came up for discussion at the Seoul plenary of the NSG last June, but Beijing did not agree on the grounds that India was not a signatory to the non-proliferation treaty (NPT). Though other countries also raised objections to Indian membership, India said “one country” consistently raised procedural hurdles, in an oblique reference to China. Beijing backed a two-step approach which stipulates that the NSG members first need to arrive at a set of principles for the admission of non-NPT states into the NSG and then move forward with the discussions on specific cases.

Officials said that fresh talks between Indian and Chinese officials on the issue were “forward looking”. Former foreign secretary Lalit Mansingh suggested China had blocked India’s entry primarily on account of the strain in bilateral ties. “There is a perceptible change in the bilateral ties after Modi meeting President Xi Jinping in Wuhan on April 27 and 28. So if China withdraws its objection, India could be a member of NSG,” he said.

Gives access to state-of-the art tech that the countries in NSG possess, which can be used for various purposes — from medicines to building nuclear power plants Enables it to scale up nuclear power production as part of clean energy push Gives ability to offer its own nuclear power plants to the world Gives Make in India programme a boost

The road to the NSG membership is paved with uncertainties since the group works on the principle of consensus and even one country holding out could block the chances of entry.

Keeping this in mind, India is working on a three-prong strategy, another officials said.

One, India is telling its close friends in the club to work with others to get India admitted. Two, India is trying to dispel the notion that countries such as Brazil, Argentina, Kazakhstan, and South Africa -- which once gave up their nuclear programme -- could cite any procedural issues to not admit India. Three, India is stressing that the process of admission is “merit-based” and not “criteria -based”, as advocated by China and supported in the past by Austria, New Zealand and Mexico.

“We have been in touch with our friends and partners for our NSG bid. We are not a member of the group. But we hope to the there soon, as we hope the grouping factors in our track record in non-proliferation and a clean waiver that the NSG had given us in 2008”, said an official who asked not to be named.

The merit-based approach means India’s non-proliferation track record should be factored in. The criteria-based approach means the grouping must first decide how to accommodate non-NPT (Non-Proliferation Treaty) countries as members. India is a not a signatory to the NPT and maintains the pact is discriminatory in nature.

India has been urging the US and Russia to work with other countries to help its membership. The Netherlands, too, agreed to work with other NSG members for India’s membership during the between Prime Minister Modi and his Dutch counterpart Mark Rutte on May 24.“In order to further strengthen global non-proliferation, the Netherlands reaffirmed its strong support to building consensus among the regimes’ members on the issue of India’s membership to the Nuclear Suppliers Group; recognizing that India’s accession will add value to the aims and objectives of these regimes,” read the joint statement issued after the meeting.

This was a step forward from the last year’s India-Netherlands joint statement, which had simply said: “The Netherlands expressed its support for India’s early membership to the Nuclear Suppliers Group.”

Switzerland, the chair of the NSG for 2017-18 with Ambassador Benno Laggner as its representative, also supports India’s membership.

In additional, there have been visits to some NSG countries by Indian ministers in recent weeks. Minister of state for external affairs MJ Akbar met Austrian Federal Minister for Europe, Integration and Foreign Affairs Karin Kneissl in Vienna on May 15. The other minister of state in the ministry, VK Singh, was in Argentina, another NSG country, to attend G20 meet on May 18-19 and India hosted the foreign minister of Serbia on May 1.

“Though there could be some others with reservations on India’s entry. But none of them could be seen as the last one standing in the way,” added a second official on condition of anonymity. A diplomat, who also asked not to be identified, said India was “in touch with Mexico and Brazil, while South Africa has twice reiterated its support for India’s membership”.
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Re: Tracking India's Admission into International Groups & Bodies

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If not anything else, China must be shown isolated on this issue.
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Re: Tracking India's Admission into International Groups & Bodies

Post by chetak »

disha wrote:China's window of opportunity for a "plan for India" is rapidly closing. Within a decade, that door will be shut.

Right now, if China does not want to fall behind in technology which is getting more and more interdependent, it needs to toe a line which leads to cooperation with India rather than antagonizing it.

NSG or no-NSG.
Very true, disha ji.

one more stint by a strong nationalist Indian govt should close this window even quicker, provided the current trends in GDP growth are maintained.

Such a window for other "interested" countries has almost closed, and it is a real cause for heartburn for them.
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Re: Tracking India's Admission into International Groups & Bodies

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India set to join European Bank for Reconstruction and Development.

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) today unveiled plans for a first-of-its-kind conference in India to welcome the country as its newest member.

The inaugural EBRD-FICCI Business Forum in Mumbai on Friday is themed around 'Mobilising private sector finance in the EBRD region and how Indian companies can benefit'.

The Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) partnered event is backed by the Export-Import Bank of India (EXIM) with the aim of bringing together government officials, EBRD experts, and investors and prominent business people to highlight the multilateral bank's efforts to mobilise private sector finance in the economies where it invests, and what the opportunities are for the Indian private sector.

“We are very proud to have India on board as a shareholder. The membership was unanimously approved by our existing shareholders,” said EBRD president Suma Chakrabarti, before he left for India to address the forum.

“India has a very diversified economic base and therefore very diversified companies, which can fulfil investment needs of our countries of operation,” he said.

In the past, EBRD has worked closely with India and in countries like Russia, Turkey, Romania, and Ukraine. Chakrabarti feels that India's membership, which is now its final stages of completion, will open up further investment prospects in markets in Central Asia, Egypt and Jordan.

“These markets are not very well known to Indian companies. The advantage of membership is that Indian companies and the Indian government immediately get free access to all of EBRD's knowledge – political, commercial, market and economic knowledge,” he explained.

London-headquartered EBRD is a multilateral development bank set up in 1991 after the fall of the Berlin Wall to promote private and entrepreneurial initiative in emerging Europe.

It invests in 38 emerging economies across three continents, according to a set of criteria that aim to make its countries more competitive, better governed, greener, more inclusive, more resilient and more integrated.

Its Indian-origin president described India's entry as the bank's 69th member as a personal high point for him, as he nears the end of his second term in office.

He said, “In my term as EBRD president, India – the country of my birth – becoming a shareholder is a high point for me personally".

"Also, it is a very good thing for global governance that India, a leading member of the G20, is now a member of this institution – which is slightly different from the others because of our private sector focus and mandate. It makes us quite special, and having India on board is special as well," he said.

Under Chakrabarti, EBRD had also concluded a joint declaration on the India-led International Solar Alliance (ISA) last year. With India now a member, this declaration is expected to get a further boost in terms of mobilising more finance for solar energy and taking forward solar energy policy and reforms.

The Business Forum in Mumbai will include plenary sessions dedicated to discussing investment opportunities and economic prospects for the region for EBRD's operation.

The bank has worked with leading Indian companies, such as Tata, Mahindra, SREI and Jindal, on investments in its regions, with the value of such joint projects worth an estimated 1 billion euros. It now hopes to introduce itself to even more Indian companies to explore newer investment opportunities.

With India now taking a shareholding in EBRD, it is expected that the scope of these joint initiatives will be further enhanced. While India will not be a recipient of EBRD financing, it will benefit from the bank's expertise and support in the region.

“We did a mapping exercise which shows that many Indian companies want to go to these countries of operation and need a safe and sound partner, something the EBRD provides,” said Chakrabarti.
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Re: Tracking India's Admission into International Groups & Bodies

Post by dinesha »

No headway in India’s push for NSG entry
Plenary over, NSG says discussions with India continue
https://indianexpress.com/article/india ... y-5220729/
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Re: Tracking India's Admission into International Groups & Bodies

Post by Vips »

No matter how many more sessions are done, China will not budge on not giving support to India, unless there is a very very substantial quid pro quo from India.
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Re: Tracking India's Admission into International Groups & Bodies

Post by Trikaal »

I think one possible reason, apart from the obvious ones, behind China blocking India is to prevent India from selling Made-in-India reactors. China probably sees low cost indian reactors as a direct competition for its product.
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Re: Tracking India's Admission into International Groups & Bodies

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US: India fulfils all conditions, but out of Nuclear Suppliers Group due to China's veto - PTI
WASHINGTON: India has not been able to secure membership of the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) because of China's veto, a senior Trump Administration official said Thursday asserting that the US will continue to advocate for New Delhi's membership in the elite grouping as it meets all the criteria.

India has been seeking entry into the 48-member elite nuclear club, which controls nuclear trade, but China has repeatedly stonewalled its bid.

While India, which is backed by the US + and a number of western countries has garnered the support of a majority of the group's members, China has stuck to its stand that new members should sign the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), making India's entry difficult as the group is guided by the consensus principle. India is not a signatory to the NPT.

"Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) is a consensus-based organisation. India has not been able to secure membership as a result of opposition from China," Alice Wells, the principal deputy assistant secretary of state for South and Central Asia, told a Washington audience.

"We have deemed that we're not going to limit our own cooperation with India based on a Chinese veto. Of course, we moved ahead with a STA-1 authorisation and we certainly believe that India meets all of the qualifications of the nuclear supplier's group and will continue to actively advocate on behalf of India's membership,” Wells said in response to a question.

She said by granting Strategic Trade Authorisation (STA-1) status, the US has placed India in the inner circle of America's closest allies.

"It reflects just the intimacy of the strategic partnership," she said
in response to a question at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), a top American think-tank.

The senior State Department Official hoped that the nuclear deal with India would finally see light of the day with its 10th anniversary approaching.

"With Westinghouse coming out of bankruptcy, we now have an opportunity to cross the finish line to really culminate in what was this historic process that began a decade ago: to be able to have one of our premier companies provide in some of the safest and cleanest fuel that will benefit, tens of millions of Indian citizens," she said.

"It's really another exciting chapter that we can hopefully close. Certainly, we will be supporting Westinghouse as it continues its conversations with India," she said.

US President George W Bush had signed the legislation on the Indo-US nuclear deal, approved by the US Congress, into law on October 8, 2008.
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Re: Tracking India's Admission into International Groups & Bodies

Post by ramana »

All this charade to sell those Westinghouse reactors.
And Obama sanctions come with them.
Rudradev
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Re: Tracking India's Admission into International Groups & Bodies

Post by Rudradev »

^^Uh... what year are we talking about here?
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