Is the NSG a Formal Intergovernmental Organisation?

No. The NSG does not have a formal secretariat or a general budget. The organisational functions are carried out on a voluntary basis by a number of NSG participants. Japan, through its Permanent Mission to the International Organisations based in Vienna, acts as the Point of Contact (PoC), carrying out a practical support function. The PoC receives and distributes NSG documents, maintains the official record, notifies meeting schedules and provides logistical and practical assistance to the NSG Plenary, the Consultative Group (CG) and Information Exchange Meeting (IEM) Chairs and the Chairs of the Technical Experts Group (TEG), Licensing and Enforcement Experts Meeting (LEEM) and any working groups that may have been established by the Plenary.

The United States is responsible for the NSG Information Sharing System (NISS), while Germany, through its Federal Office for Economic Affairs and Export Control, is responsible for hosting the NSG public website, supported technically by the European Commission’s Joint Research Centre in Ispra, Italy.