India seeks membership of nuclear export control regimes

Citing its non-proliferation record, India told the UN Security Council that given its ability and willingness to promote global non-proliferation objectives, its membership of the four nuclear export control regimes should be "the next logical step."

India's Permanent Representative to the UN, Hardeep Singh Puri said India has never been a source of proliferation of sensitive technologies and it is determined to further strengthen its export control systems to keep them on par with the international standards.

Noting that India has already adhered to the guidelines of Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) and the Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR), Puri said, "As a country with the ability and willingness to promote global non-proliferation objectives, we believe that the next logical step is India's membership of the four export control regimes."

The four regimes are the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG), the Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR), the Australia Group and the Wassenaar Arrangement.

Addressing a UN Security Council meeting on nuclear security here on Thursday, Puri said, India fully shares international concerns on the serious threat posed by nuclear terrorism and clandestine proliferation to international security.

In recent years, there has been heightened awareness of the threat of terrorists and traffickers seeking access to nuclear material and technologies for malicious purposes, he said, adding that addressing this threat requires sustained and effective international cooperation to supplement responsible national actions.

"We believe that the best guarantee for nuclear security is a world free of nuclear weapons," Puri said.

Attaining the goal of a nuclear weapon-free world would require commitments embedded in an agreed multilateral framework involving all states possessing nuclear weapons, he said.

"This should include measures to reduce nuclear dangers by reducing the salience of nuclear weapons in security doctrines and by increasing universal restraints on the first use of nuclear weapons," he said.