The Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said on Monday that India has been committed to the goal of creating a world free of nuclear weapons since it gained independence from Britain in 1947.

Addressing the Council On Foreign Relations in Washington, Dr. Singh said: “In my interactions with President Obama, I have found shared thinking on the moral imperative of putting the poor at the forefront of the global agenda. In Africa, Asia and elsewhere, they must have access to education that gives them bankable skills, to nutrition and to health-care.”

“The India-US partnership can promote global cooperation in dealing with issues that the world has to face together, whether it is hunger, global security and terrorism, nuclear disarmament, climate change or the spread of pandemics,” he added.

Welcoming President Obama’s commitment to the goal of a world free of nuclear weapons, he said: “India has been committed to this goal since independence. We believe that India’s security will be enhanced, not diminished, by the complete elimination of nuclear weapons the world over.”

“There is much that India and the United States can do together to reduce the global risks of nuclear proliferation, including by building a new global consensus on the way ahead," Dr. Singh said.

The negotiation of a verifiable Fissile Material Cut-off Treaty in the Conference on Disarmament will be a significant contribution,” he said.

“We welcome President Obama’s initiative to host a Summit on Nuclear Security in April next year. Our countries can play a vital role in strengthening global resolve to prevent terrorists from gaining access to materials and technologies related to weapons of mass destruction,” the Prime Minister added.