Missile Technology Control Regime
The MTCR has three Experts Groups reporting to the Plenary. The Information Exchange Meeting (IEM), the Licensing and Enforcement Experts Meeting (LEEM) and the Technical Experts Meeting (TEM). This section of the website provides general information about the mandates and work of these Groups.
Officials who chair the Experts Groups are nominated by their national authority and are then endorsed by consensus at the Plenary or intersessionally.
The Information Exchange Meeting (IEM) normally convenes once a year during the Plenary Week. In the IEM, Partners are invited to share information on missile-related developments with the aim to enhance proliferation-relevant knowledge that could be useful for national export control implementation.
The current MTCR IEM Chairperson is from Canada.
The Licensing and Enforcement Experts Meeting (LEEM) normally convenes once a year during the Plenary Week. The LEEM acts as an information-sharing platform on national best practices and implementation experiences to address challenges to licensing and enforcement authorities. Its participants consist of licensing and customs authorities as well as other enforcement agents.
The current MTCR LEEM Chairperson is from the Netherlands and the Co-Chairperson is from Germany.
The Technical Experts Meeting (TEM) is mandated by the Plenary to maintain and improve the MTCR Technical Annex, i.e., the list of Equipment, Software and Technology on which Partners’ national export controls are based. The TEM normally convenes once during the Plenary Week and, depending on the workload, may be complemented by an intersessional TEM.
Any changes to the MTCR Technical Annex are introduced as national proposals. All these proposals are discussed within the TEM and decisions are by consensus. Plenary approval is required for the updated MTCR Technical Annex. If agreed, the updated MTCR Technical Annex is made available on the MTCR Website.
The current MTCR TEM Chairperson is from Switzerland and the Co-Chairperson is from Belgium.
Technical Experts Meetings (either during a Plenary Week or intersessionally) have been held in: Athens (2007), Auckland (2019), Basel (2018), Berlin (1998, 2012, 2019), Berne (2015), Bonn (1995, 2013), Buenos Aires (2003, 2011), Busan (2016), Canberra (2008), Copenhagen (2006), Dublin (2017), Edinburgh (1996), The Hague (2024), Helsinki (2000), Interlaken (1993), London (1989, 1993, 2004), Luxembourg (2016), Madrid (2005), Montreux (2022), Moscow (2001), Noordwijk (1999), Oslo (1992, 2014, 2023), Ottawa (1990, 2001), Paris (1999), Prague (2014), Reykjavik (2018), Rio de Janeiro (2009), Rome (2013), Rotterdam (2015), Seoul (2004), Sochi (2021), Stockholm (1994, 2009, 2017), Tokyo (1997), Vienna (2003), Warsaw (2002).
The Technical Outreach Meetings (TOM) allow Partners to engage in technical dialogue with adherents and other non-Partners and provide information about the most recent changes to the MTCR Technical Annex. They are normally convened every two years, if decided by the Plenary.
Technical Outreach Meetings have been held in: Luxembourg (2016), Oslo (2023), Paris (2009, 2014), Reykjavik (2018).
In addition to the TOM, all Experts Groups’ Chairs, as well as other national experts, can support the MTCR Chair in their outreach activities.
A Joint IEM-LEEM-TEM Meeting may be convened on ad-hoc basis focusing on a topic of common interest to all Experts Groups and Plenary representatives.