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India will not be a source of proliferation, says Pranab

NEW DELHI: India on Friday reiterated its commitment to strengthen the non-proliferation regime and assured the world community that it would abide by a “voluntary unilateral moratorium on nuclear testing.”

“India will not be the source of proliferation of sensitive technologies, including enrichment and reprocessing transfers. We stand for the strengthening of the non-proliferation regime. We support international efforts to limit the spread of ENR [enrichment and reprocessing] equipment or technologies to states that do not have them,” External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee said in a statement on the civil nuclear initiative.

The suo motu statement came in the backdrop of the Nuclear Suppliers Group meeting, which entered the crucial second day in Vienna with some members expressing concern over giving India a waiver from the guidelines of the 45-nation grouping to conduct nuclear trade.

In an attempt at allaying apprehensions of some of the “sceptic” NSG members, Mr. Mukherjee said India would work together with the international community to advance “our common objective of non-proliferation.”

“In this regard, India is interested in participating as a supplier nation, particularly for thorium-based fuel and in establishment of international fuel banks, which also benefit India.”

India’s civil nuclear initiative would strengthen the international non-proliferation regime. “India believes that the opening of full civil nuclear cooperation will be good for India and for the world. It will have a profound positive impact on global energy security and international efforts to combat climate change.”

Emphasising that India approached the dialogue with NSG and all its members in a spirit of cooperation that allowed a frank exchange of views on subjects of mutual interest and concern, the Minister expressed the hope that such a dialogue would strengthen India’s relationship in the years to come.

“We remain committed to a voluntary, unilateral moratorium on nuclear testing. We do not subscribe to any arms race, including a nuclear arms race. We have always tempered the exercise of our strategic autonomy with a sense of global responsibility. We affirm our policy of no-first use of nuclear weapons.”

Mr. Mukherjee stressed that India was committed to working with others towards the conclusion of a multilateral Fissile Material Cut-off Treaty in the Conference on Disarmament that was universal, non-discriminatory and verifiable.

Dwelling on India’s “impeccable non-proliferation record,” he said: “We have in place an effective and comprehensive system of national export controls, which has been constantly updated to meet the highest international standards. This is manifested in the enactment of the Weapons of Mass Destruction and their Delivery Systems Act in 2005.”

The Minister assured the world community that India had taken steps to secure nuclear materials and technology through comprehensive export control legislation and through harmonisation, and committed itself to adhering to the Missile Technology Control Regime and NSG guidelines.

India’s vision of a world free of nuclear weapons, put before the United Nations in 1988 by the then Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi, still had universal resonance. “India has a long-standing and steadfast commitment to universal, non-discriminatory and total elimination of nuclear weapons.”

Asserting that India placed great value on the role played by the International Atomic Energy Agency’s nuclear safeguards system, the Minister said: “We look forward to working with the IAEA in implementing the India-specific Safeguards Agreement concluded with the IAEA. In keeping with our commitment to sign and adhere to an Additional Protocol with respect to India’s civil nuclear facilities, we are working closely with the IAEA to ensure early conclusion of an Additional Protocol to the Safeguards Agreement.”

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