NEW DELHI: Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Japanese Prime Minister Hatoyama on Tuesday vowed to work for universal nuclear disarmament. An annual dialogue on disarmament and non-proliferation will be held at the level of the Joint Secretary. The two Prime Ministers also discussed global and regional issues, including the G-20 process, the Copenhagen Climate Change Conference, energy security, terrorism and reform of the United Nations Security Council.
Visiting Japanese Prime Minister Hatoyama promised to initiate measures soon to step up civil nuclear cooperation, in the light of India’s voluntary moratorium on nuclear testing. The two Prime Ministers supported the immediate commencement of negotiations in the Conference on Disarmament and an early conclusion of a Fissile Material Cut-off Treaty (FMCT). They also supported the strengthening of international cooperation with a view to addressing the challenges of nuclear terrorism and clandestine proliferation. The two Prime Ministers reaffirmed their resolve to realize a comprehensive reform of the UN Security Council, especially its expansion in both Permanent and non-Permanent categories and welcomed the progress in the intergovernmental negotiations in the UN General Assembly, in which an expansion in both categories has wide support.
Significantly, the two leaders agreed on early implementation of the Delhi-Mumbai Dedicated Freight Corridor Project. Details for Phase I would be finalized within the next few months, so that actual implementation can begin in 2010 itself. The Japan Bank of International Cooperation (JBIC) also singed a loan agreement totaling up to $ 75 million with the India Infrastructure Finance Company to prepare plan for overall DMIC region and developing plans for investment in Phase-1.
Japanese Premier Hatoyama, who is on his first official visit after assuming office in mid-September, was accompanied by his wife Miyuki Hatoyama at the dinner on Monday night hosted by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and his wife Gursharan Kaur at their 7, Race Course Road residence here. Hatoyama also met Congress President Sonia Gandhi, when ICCR President Karan Singh and Union Commerce Minister Anand Sharma were present on occasion.
The two Prime Ministers welcomed the Copenhagen Accord and reaffirmed their determination to work closely together in the negotiations under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) towards an Agreed Outcome, to be adopted at the 16th session of the Conference of the Parties. Prime Minister Singh welcomed the announcement of the Hatoyama Initiative.
