President Dr A P J Abdul Kalam on Thursday reiterated India’s commitment to nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation while making a joint statement with Greek President Karlos Papoulias.

Replying to a question on India’s stand on Iran’s nuclear programme, Dr Kalam stated that India still believed in using nuclear power for peaceful purposes like in areas of agriculture, power generation and medicine. India does use nuclear power for its defence system too, but it is committed to a no-first-use policy. “As far as Iran is concerned, we believe it should use its nuclear power for peaceful purposes,” he said.

Addressing the Hellenic Foundation for European and Foreign Policy, Kalam noted how he felt elated to be in the “hallowed grounds of this great country”.