PM to visit US for nuke security summit on April 12-13

New Delhi, Apr.4 (ANI): The Prime Minister, Dr. Manmohan Singh will undertake a two-day visit to Washington for a Summit on Nuclear Security, an initiative of the United States President Barack Obama, who has invited the Indian PM and 42 other leaders.

Briefing media persons at Shastri Bhawan here, Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao said: "We have welcomed this initiative and have contributed substantively to the summit preparations. PM will arrive in Washington in the afternoon of April 12."

President Obama will host a dinner that evening for the visiting leaders. The discussion at the dinner will focus on the threat of nuclear terrorism, the primary reason why the summit has been convened.

There will be two plenary sessions on April 13, focused respectively on national measures and on international cooperation to enhance nuclear security. There will be a working lunch that would be addressed by the Director General of IAEA (International Atomic Energy Agency), which plays the primary role internationally in the promotion of peaceful uses of nuclear energy.

The summit will conclude with the issue of an outcome document on April 13.

Sherpas from 44 countries and representatives of the European Union and the IAEA have negotiated the outcome over the past six months.

"I have led a team of DAE and MEA officials in discussions on the Summit outcome at meetings of the Sherpas in Tokyo and The Hague. The Sherpas will also meet in Washington on the eve of the Summit," Ms. Rao informed.

"To sum up, nuclear terrorism is a global challenge and we see the Summit and its associated preparatory process as important elements in strengthening international resolve to cooperate on nuclear security and supporting the expanded use of nuclear energy for peaceful purposes. This will be to India's benefit given our concerns on terrorism as well as our interest in the expansion of civil nuclear energy, Ms. Rao stated. (ANI)