By Xinhua,
New Delhi : Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said here on Monday that the emergency of new threats and challenges to global security are growing in the world.
Addressing the opening ceremony of the International conference on Towards a Word Free of Nuclear Weapons, Singh said that nuclear weapons may be acquired by terrorists or those driven extreme ideologies, the increasing danger of non-state actors, accessing nuclear materials and devices.
The development of new weapon systems based on emerging technologies which pose challenges to space security and provide new roles for nuclear weapons, he said, adding that the weakening of multilateralism even as bilateral arms control process falter in shifting strategic landscapes.
He stressed that India is fully aware of its responsibilities as a nuclear weapon state, saying India has a declared doctrine of no first use that is based on credible minimum deterrence and India has no intention to engage in an arms race with anyone.
The Indian prime minister proposed a set of measures for working towards the goal of a nuclear weapons free world.
The measures include negotiation of a nuclear weapons convention prohibiting the development, production, stockpiling and use of nuclear weapons and on their destruction, leading to the global, on-discriminatory and verifiable elimination of nuclear weapons with a specified timeframe.
He said India hopes that countries across the world will agree to a dialogue on these proposals.
“That is the critical first step, a commitment, preferably a binding legal agreement through an international instrument, to eliminate nuclear weapons within a time bound for framework,” said the prime minister.
The two-day international conference, organized by the Center for Strategic and International Studies and India Council of World Affairs, kicked off here on Monday with the participation of more than 80 delegates from 27 countries and international organizations across the world.