India’s concerns on terrorism and the possible acquisition of nuclear devices and material by terror groups will be in focus during the Nuclear Security Summit called by president Barack Obama.
India’s concerns on terrorism and the possible acquisition of nuclear devices and material by terror groups will be in focus during the Nuclear Security Summit called by president Barack Obama on April 12 and 13.
Prime minister Manmohan Singh will travel to Washington and speak of India’s concerns on nuclear security in the volatile neighbourhood, where Pakistan’s nuclear sites could be the target of terror groups operating in Pakistan and Afghanistan. Any leakage from nuclear plants in Pakistan would be dangerous for the world and particularly for India, which is already bearing the brunt of repeated terrorist strikes from across the border.
Foreign secretary Nirupama Rao, while briefing reporters on the nuclear summit, shied away from naming Pakistan’s nuclear installations as India’s main worry, though it is well-known this has always been a major concern. “We are not going to be country-specific,’’ Rao said, stonewalling efforts to get her to name Pakistan. Her point was that the summit is not centred around individual nations, but nuclear security globally.
It would be interesting to see if Obama does not raise the issue of Iran’s nuclear program at the summit, when the US and its allies are all out to bring in tougher sanctions against Tehran.
Significantly, Iran is calling for a nuclear summit of its own, where India has been invited. But New Delhi is likely to ask its ambassador to attend. Considering that the prime minister is attending the Washington summit, sending in the ambassador alone is a telling comment where New Delhi’s sympathies lie.
Rao spoke of India’s commitment to non-proliferation and said the preparatory process would help strengthen international resolve to cooperate on nuclear security. “This will be to India’s benefit, given our concerns on terrorism as well as our interest in the expansion of civil nuclear energy,” Rao said.
Since 2002, India has piloted a resolution at the UN on preventing terrorists from acquiring weapons of mass destruction. India is active in the IAEA on setting and enforcing standards on physical protection of nuclear material and facilities and on combating illicit trafficking in nuclear material.
India is also party to the Convention on the Physical Protection of
Nuclear Material and its 2005 amendment. New Delhi is participating in the Global Initiative to Combat Nuclear Terrorism of 2006. The PM will reach Washington in the afternoon of April 12. President Obama will host a dinner that evening for visiting leaders. The discussion will focus on the threat of nuclear terrorism. There will be two plenary sessions on April 13, focused on national measures and on international cooperation to enhance nuclear security. A working lunch to be addressed by the director-general of IAEA, the nuclear watchdog which promotes peaceful uses of nuclear energy, is next on the agenda.
At the end of the deliberation, an outcome document will be released. Rao, who has been attending discussions on the summit outcome in Tokyo and The Hague, refused to say what India’s suggestions were at these meets. But it is learnt that Delhi has proposed to set up a centre on nuclear security in India. India wants to prove it is fully committed to safeguarding and securing nuclear material. Rao refused to comment on India’s proposal.
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