Recognising India as a "nuclear power" publicly for the first time, president Barack Obama today said it can be a full partner of the US in preventing the spread of atomic weapons and pursuing the shared vision of a nuclear arms-free world.
As Obama welcomed prime minister Manmohan Singh in the White House in the first State Visit of his Administration, the N-word featured in the introductory remarks of both the leaders.
"As nuclear powers, we can be full partners in preventing the spread of the world's most deadly weapons, securing loose nuclear materials from terrorists, and pursuing our shared vision of a world without nuclear weapons," Obama said.
On his part, Singh said, "We should cooperate in addressing global challenges of combating terrorism, making our environment cleaner, and moving towards a world free of nuclear weapons."
With nuclear non-proliferation being one of the top priorities of Obama, it is likely that the two leaders would talk about the issue during their one-on-one.
Obama took the initiative in the adoption of a resolution by the UN Security Council on September 24 requiring all members to ratify the Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty (NPT).
However, Singh had said that the resolution was not directed at India, neither it would have any impact on the Indo-US civil nuclear agreement.
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