Agreement to establish the Wassenaar Arrangement was reached on 19 December 1995 in Wassenaar, near The Hague, in the Netherlands. The first Plenary meeting of the operational Wassenaar Arrangement was held on 12-13 December 1996 in Vienna, Austria.
The Wassenaar Arrangement marked its 20th Anniversary in 2016.
The Wassenaar Arrangement’s 20th Anniversary activities culminated on 6 December 2016 in a special commemorative event hosted by the Austrian Federal Ministry for Europe, Integration and Foreign Affairs (BMEIA) in conjunction with the WA’s twenty-second Plenary meeting in Vienna. BMEIA Secretary-General Michael Linhart gave a welcoming address, followed by brief statements by the 2016 WA Plenary Chair Ambassador Hannu Kyröläinen (Finland), and Wassenaar Arrangement Head of Secretariat Philip Griffiths. Mr. Sten Lundbo (Norway), one of the key figures in the establishment of the Arrangement, and former WA Head of Secretariat Sune Danielsson also made remarks. Aimed at raising awareness of the WA’s contributions over 20 years, the occasion brought together invited guests including representatives of WA outreach partners, persons with a particular connection to the WA, heads of Vienna-based international organisations and other relevant international organisations, representatives of relevant NGOs, as well as WA Participating State delegates and the WA Secretariat.
Preceding WA 20th Anniversary events in 2016 included a technically-focused Practical Workshop which was held on 27-28 June 2016 in Vienna to share information with an invited group of non-member countries.
Photo courtesy of Dodge and Burn for Cercle Diplomatique