Second Nuclear Summit in Seoul
From CK Nayak
Seoul: The world seem to be uniting in condemning belligerent or weak countries like North Korea, Pakistan and the likes of Iran when they began the two-day second Nuclear Summit with all major nations including India raising up their ante against a possible catastrophe.
Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh just said ‘hello’ to his Pakistani counterpart Yousaf Raza Gilani when they were proceeding for dinner but made it in no uncertain terms that nuclear weapons can always fall into the hands of the non-state actor — a fear expressed by many.
Dr Singh will speak twice on Tuesday and was greeted many world leaders including US President Barack Obama the star of this multilateral high profile conference after the UN General Assembly.
Besides South Korean supporter Obama and neutral India, even countries like Russia and China did not approve the communist North Korea going ahead with the launching of the rocket believed to be testing nuclear missiles.
More importantly these world leaders have advised North Korea to feeds its lakhs of hungry mouths in stark contrast to its estranged neighbour — a prosperous South Korea.
South Korean President Lee Myung-bak hosted leaders from more than 50 nations for the global summit that is focussing on working out more specific actions to prevent nuclear terrorism and ensure atomic safety.
The gathering at the Convention and Exhibition Centre (COEX) in southern Seoul, the largest diplomatic event South Korea has ever hosted, is the second of its kind since the inaugural gathering in Washington two years ago hosted by Obama.
The first summit focused on strengthening security for fissile materials worldwide and securing against nuclear terrorism. In Seoul, world leaders, including Obama, Chinese President Hu Jintao, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and Dr Singh are set to assess accomplishments of
commitments made in Washington and lay out more concrete actions to curb the threat of nuclear terrorism and illicit trafficking.
For obvious reasons North Korea is not attending the summit, but anxiety over its push to arm itself with nuclear weapons and missiles has become a major distraction for world leaders.
The country announced earlier that it will put a satellite into orbit in mid-April on the back of a long-range rocket, a claim widely seen as a pretext that the it has long used to disguise ballistic missile tests banned under a UN Security Council resolution.
South Korean has said North has moved a rocket to its northwestern site in preparation for next month’s launch and Seoul would shoot down the rocket if it strays into the South’s territory. South Korea, Japan and the US have defined the launch plan as a disguised test of the North’s improved long-range missile technology.
A principal achievement for the first nuclear security summit in Washington was gaining agreement from all 47 participating nations that nuclear terrorism is among the top global security challenges and that strong nuclear material security measures are the most effective way to prevent it.
The Seoul Summit will serve as a stepping stone to translate the political will generated at the Washington summit into action, while laying a cornerstone for attaining key nuclear security goals in the mid and long-term.
The Seoul summit began with a two-hour welcome reception by Lee for the participants, followed by a working dinner.
The leaders will hold day-long sessions on Tuesday. The tangible outcome of the Seoul Nuclear Security Summit will be incorporated into the Seoul Communique to be adopted as the summit’s final document, Foreign Secretary Mr Ranjan Mathai said in a late night meeting with the reporters.
In the morning, Dr Singh held a meeting with the captains of industries of Korea during which he urged them to invest in India without any hesitation. He asked them to help India expand its burgeoning solar and nuclear power sectors by investing in these environment-friendly technologies.
“We are committed to increasing energy efficiency and the share of renewables, including solar and nuclear power, in our energy mix,” Dr Singh told a group of top Korean CEOs in Seoul.
Among the CEOs present was Kim Joong-Kyum of the Korea Electric Power Corporation (KEPCO) which has interests in nuclear power that meets 45 per cent of Korea’s electricity requirements.
Besides KEPCO, CEOs of Samsung Electronics, Tata Daewoo, Ssangyong Motors, Hyundai Motors, Posco and Doosan Heavy Industries were present at the meeting.
Later, the Prime Minister had bilateral meetings with his counterparts of Italy and Norway during which controversial issues were discussed.
On Tuesday, Dr Singh will have bilateral talks with Prime Minister of Turkey and Spain, Mathai informed.