Foreign Secretary Sujata Mehta expressed "unwavering" support for non-discriminatory nuclear disarmament while explaining India's stand on the issue of nuclear disarmament at the International Day for Elimination of Nuclear Weapons observed here Friday.
"India has been unwavering in its support for universal and non-discriminatory nuclear disarmament and the complete elimination of nuclear weapons and other WMDs (weapons of mass destruction) consistent with the highest priority accorded to nuclear disarmament by the Final Document of First Special Session on Disarmament (SSOD-I)," Mehta said.
The International Day was established by the UN General Assembly in 2013 in a resolution calling for the urgent commencement of negotiations in the Conference on Disarmament of a comprehensive convention on nuclear weapons to prohibit their possession, development, production, acquisition, testing, stockpiling, transfer and use or threat of use, and to provide for their destruction.
Following the creation of the International Day against Nuclear Tests in 2010, the measure was the latest effort by the UN body to raise public awareness and work for deeper engagement on nuclear disarmament issues.
Mehta said that India believed that nuclear disarmament could be achieved by a step-by-step process.
"India is convinced that the goal of nuclear disarmament can be achieved by a step-by-step process underwritten by a universal commitment and an agreed multilateral framework that is global and non-discriminatory," she said.
"There is need for a meaningful dialogue among all states possessing nuclear weapons to build trust and confidence and for reducing the salience of nuclear weapons in international affairs and security doctrines," the foreign secretary said.
