NEW DELHI, 8 October 2004 — Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh yesterday ruled out the possibility of India signing the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) “now.” He made this statement at a joint press conference with visiting German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder.
Asserting that India is a responsible nuclear power, Manmohan said: “We act with restraint and we have a ‘no-first-use’ doctrine in place.”
Manmohan said India was willing to work with “like-minded” countries to prevent secret exports of sensitive nuclear materials but circumstances were not right to sign the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT).
India says the pact imposes stricter conditions on fledgling nuclear states than on established nuclear powers.
“India also has an impeccable record on export controls so that any unauthorized use of sensitive nuclear material can be effectively prevented,” the prime minister said.
“We are interested in working with like-minded countries to strengthen the non-proliferation system.” Manmohan did not name rival Pakistan but made reference to recent disclosures of proliferation from the neighboring country.
“We are victims of gaps that exist in the present nuclear proliferation arrangements and I don’t want to talk about it but we have seen for example clandestine exports of nuclear material in our region.
“So we are committed to work with like-minded countries to strengthen the non-proliferation regime to prevent unauthorized proliferation but I don’t know whether circumstances are right now for us to sign that (NPT),” Manmohan said. India since its nuclear weapons explosions has imposed a moratorium on further testing.
“We are voluntarily fulfilling all the commitments that go with being a responsible nuclear power, acting with due restraint,” the premier said. India also refuses to endorse the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty, arguing that it does not restrict simulated nuclear tests or contains a timeframe for disarmament.
Gerhard Schroeder said yesterday that both India and Germany would work closely for adopting a multilateral strategy in strengthening the UN besides supporting each other’s possible candidature in the UNSC.
“We regard India as an extraordinarily important partner, not only in the region but in international politics in general,” he said.
Schroeder made these comments while talking to reporters after receiving a ceremonial welcome at the Rashtrapati Bhawan. The two countries want to work together to bring down global poverty through economic reforms, he said.
Earlier, before a series of meetings with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and other leaders Schroeder said he would press for closer economic ties between Asia’s fourth-largest economy and his country.
