The first missile outreach mission got under way in Singapore under the Italian leadership of the Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR). Led by Ambassador Carlo Trezza, current president of the organisation, a delegation of the organisation’s main representatives will hold meetings with the Singapore and Malaysia authorities. Their talks will centre on missile proliferation control in the strategic area of the transit and transfer of sensitive materials in two countries that host sea and airport facilities of primary importance. The MTCR is an informal and voluntary association of countries jointly engaged in countering the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction delivery systems. It was set up in 1987 by Canada, France, Germany, Japan, the UK, Italy and the US, and met for the first time in plenary session in 1988 in Rome. In October 2013, the organisation (whose membership has grown to 34) met once again in Italy at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to review the situation and assess what steps to take next.
Dialogue and cooperation on countering WMD proliferation
The plenary session, which coincided with the start of the Italian MTCR presidency, established the importance of improving dialogue and cooperation with countries with missile capacity and with those located strategically for their transport, as well as to pursue the path of dialogue with other international organisations engaged in countering WMD proliferation.
Italy, in particular, advanced its support for the candidacy of the EU countries that are not yet MTCR members, while nevertheless maintaining a 360° watch. Indeed, the moment is a delicate one; Russia has accused the Ukraine military-space firm Yuzhmash of negotiating with foreign countries for the acquisition of missile technology. Moscow reminded Kiev that it was a member of the MTCR and a signatory of the Hague Code of Conduct against Ballistic Missile Proliferation (HCOC).
