Nations must unite for nuclear security: Prime Minister

“Nuclear security must remain an abiding national priority,” Modi said in his intervention during a White House dinner hosted by the US President Barack Obama that formally kicked off the two-day Nuclear Security Summit. Modi was seated next to Obama during the White House dinner which was attended by heads of states of more than 20 countries here in the US capital for the fourth edition of the Nuclear Security Summit.

Praising the US President for his initiative on nuclear security, Modi said Obama’s legacy must endure. “By putting spotlight on nuclear security, Obama has done great service to global security,” Modi said. 

Dwelling at length on the threat posed by terrorism to the world, the Prime Minister said the Brussels attacks shows how real and immediate the threat is to nuclear security from terrorism. Outlining three contemporary features of terror that the world should focus on, Modi said today’s terrorism uses extreme violence as theatre. 

“Second, we are no longer looking for a man in a cave, but we are hunting for a terrorist in a city with a computer or a smart phone. Third, state actors working with nuclear traffickers and terrorists present the greatest risk,” he said. 

Noting that terror has evolved, Modi said terrorists are using 21st century technology. “But our responses are rooted in the past,” he said. 

The reach and supply chains of terrorism are global, but genuine cooperation between nation states is not, Modi said. “Drop the notion that terrorism is someone else’s problem and that ‘his’ terrorist is not ‘my’ terrorist. Terrorism is a global network. But, we still act only on a national level to counter this threat,” the PM told the international community.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi engaged with top world leaders on Friday including the heads of state from Canada, Britain, Japan in a series of bilateral talks here on the side-lines of the Nuclear Security Summit, where he would outline India’s roadmap and measures taken to ensure nuclear security. He is expected to start the day with a bilateral meeting with Canadian counterpart Justin Trudeau, which would be Modi’s first meeting with Trudeau after he was recently elected as Canada’s Prime Minister. 

This would be followed by back-to-back meetings with British Prime Minister David Cameron and Argentinian President Mauricio Macri. Cameron is meeting Modi at a time when he is facing the prospect of job loss to some 20,000 people after India’s Tata Steel decided to sell its loss-making UK businesses. 

Later, Modi is scheduled to meet Switzerland President Johann N Schneider-Ammann. He would conclude his two-day trip to Washington by meeting his close friend and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.