The Global Initiative to Combat Nuclear Terrorism meet will start tomorrow.
India will host a meeting on combating nuclear terrorism -- a move that could boost its bid to enter the elite Nuclear Suppliers Group in face of opposition from China. The two-day "Implementation and Assessment Group Meeting of the Global Initiative to Combat Nuclear Terrorism", to be attended by 150 delegates from around the world, will begin in Delhi tomorrow.
The possible use of weapons of mass destruction and related material by terrorists is "no longer a theoretical concern", said the foreign ministry, which is organising the meet jointly with the Department of Atomic Energy.
"A breach of nuclear security may lead to unimaginable consequences" and have a global impact, the ministry said. "It is imperative to strengthen international efforts to combat such threats. This meeting is therefore timely and important and would further enhance our vigil," the ministry said.
The group was launched in 2006 jointly by the Russian Federation and the United States. In the past 10 years, it has grown to include 86 partner nations.
The meeting is in line with what Prime Minister Narendra Modi had announced in Washington last year at the Nuclear Security Summit about India's efforts to secure nuclear weapons.
Despite the support of US and its allies UK and France, India's bid to enter the elite nuclear club was thwarted by China and a few other nations, which had argued that India has not signed the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.
In face of China's warning earlier this year that India's membership to the nuclear club cannot be a parting gift of the Barack Obama administration, US envoy Richard Verma said the incoming Donald Trump administration would continue to work on the matter.