Nuclear security must remain abiding national priority: PM Modi

The Prime Minister also praised US President Barack Obama for his focus on nuclear security and vouched for his legacy to endure

Nuclear security must remain an abiding national priority, Prime Minister Narendra Modi today said, insisting that all countries must completely abide by their international obligations.

“Nuclear security must remain an abiding national priority. All states must completely abide by their international obligations," Modi said in his intervention during a White House dinner hosted by the US President Barack Obama that formally kicked off the two-day Nuclear Security Summit.

Modi was seated next to Obama during the White House dinner, which was attended by heads of States of more than 20 countries here in the US capital for the fourth edition of the Nuclear Security Summit.

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Praising the US President for his initiative on nuclear security, Modi said Obama's legacy must endure.

"By putting spotlight on nuclear security, Obama has done great service to global security," Modi said.

Dwelling at length on the threat posed by terrorism to the world, the Prime Minister said the Brussels attacks shows how real and immediate the threat is to nuclear security from terrorism.

Outlining three contemporary features of terror that the world should focus on, Modi said today's terrorism uses extreme violence as theatre.

"Second, we are no longer looking for a man in a cave, but we are hunting for a terrorist in a city with a computer or a smart phone. Third, state actors working with nuclear traffickers and terrorists present the greatest risk," he said.

Noting that terror has evolved, Modi said terrorists are using 21st century technology. "But our responses are rooted in the past," he said.

The reach and supply chains of terrorism are global, but genuine cooperation between nation states is not, Modi said.

"Drop the notion that terrorism is someone else's problem and that 'his' terrorist is not 'my' terrorist.

"Terrorism is globally networked. But, we still act only nationally to counter this threat," the PM told the international community.