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Nuclear Security Summit: World leaders pledge to wipe out terrorism

At the Summit, India announced contribution of USD 1 million to IAEA Nuclear Security Fund.

By :  naren pulloor
Update: 2016-04-01 08:02 GMT
The two-day Nuclear Security Summit in Washington witnessed world leaders from over 50 countries who shared their assessment of the threat from nuclear weapons and materials.
Modi met his Canadian counterpart Justin Trudeau and discussed bilateral ties, their first meeting after the latter swept to power last year.
Canada had agreed to supply 3,000 metric tonnes of uranium to energy-hungry India under a USD 254 million five-year deal to power Indian reactors.
The agreement for uranium supply, which came two years after protracted negotiations following the 2013 civil nuclear deal between India and Canada, was signed after comprehensive talks Modi had with Harper in April last year.
Modi also met his British counterpart David Cameron on the sidelines of the summit. Their meeting comes in the backdrop of a crisis in Britain's steel industry after Tata Steel announced that it has decided to explore all options for portfolio restructuring including the potential divestment of Tata Steel UK, in whole or in parts'.
During the summit, Obama said that the world faces a persistent and evolving threat from terrorists who are eager to unleash a devastating nuclear attack. It would change our world,' he said.
No terrorists have thus far obtained nuclear material, and he praised recent moves by Argentina, Switzerland and Uzbekistan for getting rid of their stockpiles of highly enriched uranium, Obama was quoted as saying.
Obama acknowledged that the nuclear deal hasn't swept away other issues the US and other nations still have with Iran; support for terrorism and Tehran's ballistic missile program typically top that list.
For the dozens of world leaders assembled in Washington this week, the harrowing risk of nuclear terrorism has been front and center, alongside concerns about North Korea's nuclear weapons programme. Yet Obama worked to open the summit's final day on an optimistic note, hailing the nuclear agreement with Iran as a substantial success' and a model for future diplomacy.
During his two-day stay in Washington, Modi is scheduled to interact with a number of world leaders including the host Barack Obama. Attending the summit for the first time, Modi is expected to lay out his vision of securing nuclear weapons.
As world leaders gathered for a nuclear security summit, Obama first met with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.
He also met South Korean President Park Geun-hye.
Together, they warned North Korea would face even tougher sanctions and more isolation if provokes again with nuclear and missile tests.
Obama met Chinese President Xi Jinping and both called for North Korea to give up its nuclear weapons. China also agreed to implement in full the latest economic restrictions imposed by the UN Security Council against Pyongyang.
More than 50 governments and international organizations are attending the two-day summit on preventing nuclear terrorism - the last in a series of global meetings Obama has championed on the issue.
Obama also met with French President Francois Hollande, amid steep concerns about terrorism in Europe following Islamic State-linked attacks in Paris and Brussels.
Intervening on nuclear terrorism threat at the Nuclear Security Summit dinner at the White House hosted by Obama, Modi called to focus on three contemporary features of terrorism.
Lauding Obama for putting the spotlight on Nuclear Security and for his service to the global community, Modi said that the deadly Brussels attack was the prime example of how real and immediate is the threat to nuclear security from terrorism.
Taking a hard stand on terrorism in the international arena, Narendra Modi said that there could be no deterrence against nuclear terrorism without prevention and prosecution of acts of terrorism.
In the face of mounting threats from North Korea, Obama urged closer security ties among its chief allies in Asia and increased cooperation with strategic rival China to discourage Pyongyang from further advances in nuclear weapons.
“Of great importance to both of us is North Korea's pursuit of nuclear weapons, which threatens the security and stability of the region. President Xi and I are both committed to the denuclearisation of the Korean Peninsula,” Obama said.
Department of Atomic Energy Secretary Sekhar Basu and the US National Science Foundation (NSF) France Cordova signed the MoU in this regard in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and LIGO scientists.
Modi later met a team of scientists from the Laser Interferometer Gravitational Wave Observatory (LIGO). A memorandum of understanding on setting up LIGO facility in India was also signed between India and the United States on the occasion.
US said a strengthened nuclear security agreement among nations was finally set to take force following ratification by a critical mass of countries.
The stricter rules include new criminal penalties for smuggling nuclear material and expanded requirements for securing materials and nuclear facilities worldwide, and are intended to reduce the likelihood of terrorists getting their hands on ingredients for a bomb.
At the Summit, India announced contribution of USD 1 million to IAEA Nuclear Security Fund.

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