India, US can join hands to counter N-proliferation: PM

I / Washington November 24, 2009, 14:02 IST

Supporting President Barack Obama's goal of an atomic arms free world, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has said India and the US can work together on efforts to reduce global risks of nuclear proliferation and prevent terrorists from gaining access to technologies related to weapons of mass destruction.

"We welcome the fact that President Obama has committed the United States to the goal of a world free of nuclear weapons," Singh said in an address to the Council on Foreign Relations, a Washington-based think tank.

Noting that India has been committed to this goal since independence, he said "We believe that India's security will be enhanced, not diminished, by the complete elimination of nuclear weapons the world over."

"There is much that India and the United States can do together to reduce the global risks of nuclear proliferation, including by building a new global consensus on the way ahead. The negotiation of a verifiable Fissile Material Cut-off Treaty in the Conference on Disarmament will be a significant contribution," he said.

The Prime Minister welcomed Obama's initiative to host a summit on Nuclear Security in April next year.

"Our countries can play a vital role in strengthening global resolve to prevent terrorists from gaining access to materials and technologies related to weapons of mass destruction," he said.

Singh also deeply appreciated the cooperation that India has received from the United States in the area of counter-terrorism in the recent past.

"I am convinced that we can do much more together on a sustained basis to combat increasingly sophisticated terror networks, transnational criminal groups and cyber terrorism," he said.

"Our defence and strategic dialogues have added important dimensions to our ties. Maritime security, including countering piracy and protecting sea-lanes of communication in the Indian Ocean and beyond, is another area where we should expand cooperation," he said.

The Prime Minister said the two countries should fully harness the bilateral civil nuclear cooperation agreement to shape the nuclear renaissance in the energy industry.