India to become a full member of MTCR) Missile Technology Control Regime

After the sign the document of accession, India will become the member of Missile Technology Control Regime(MTCR) after three days it failed to get into NSG due to the opposition of China and four other countries. It is the India’s first entry into any multilateral export control regime.

Ministry of External Affairs Spokesperson Vikas Swarup said that India had applied for the membership of MTCR in the year of 2014 and India have been completed all the procedural formalities. Tomorrow, S Jaishankar, The Foreign Secretary, will sign the document of accession into MTCR in the presence of Ambassadors of France, Netherlands and Luxembourg.

China which oppose the India’s entry in NSG is not the member of MTCR. China also applied for the membership of MTCR in 2004. But MTCR didnot offer the membership to China because of concerns about China’s export control standard.

Last year Italy opposed the India’s membership in MTCR over the marine disputes. Italy softened his opposition after India allowed to return the two marine of Italy. The two marine of Italy accused of murdering of two fishermen on the Kerala coast in 2012.

India also got a boost to get entry into MTCR after india agreed to join the Hague Code of Conduct which deals with the ballistic missile non-proliferation arrangements.

The membership of MTCR will help/enable India to increase its joint venture with Russia and to buy high end missile technologies.

MTCR established in April 1987 by the group of G7 countries: Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Great Britain and USA. It was created in order to curb the spread of unmanned delivery systems for nuclear weapons, specifically delivery systems that could carry a minimum payload of 500 kg for a minimum of 300 km.

In the year of 2002, the MTCR was supplemented by the International Code of Conduct against Ballistic missile Proliferation, also known as the Hague Code of Conduct, which calls for restraint and care in the proliferation of ballistic missile systems capable of delivering weapons of mass destruction.

In November 2010, US President Barack Obama announced his nation’s support for India’s entry into the MTCR during his state visit to India. India applied for the membership of MTCR in year of 2014. India is the newest member of MTCR with consensus of the current 34 nations.