Prime Minister Manmohan Singh left Washington on Wednesday for Brazil after attending the Nuclear Security Summit and holding talks with US President Barack Obama during which he asked him to press Pakistan to rein in Lashkar-e-Tayiba and other terror outfits targeting India.On the second leg of his 8-day two-nation tour, Singh headed to Brasilia where he would attend the India-Brazil- South Africa and the Brazil-Russia-India-China summits on Thursday and on Friday.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Wednesday revealed that he had told United States President Barack Obama that India does not favour Iran's nuclear weapons ambitions but sanctions were not an answer as poor people get more affected by them."I said to the President that we do not favour Iran's nuclear weapons ambitions," Dr Singh told a press conference in Washington, when asked about the discussions on Iran that he had with Obama two days ago.
The communique issued at the end of the Summit, which saw the participation of 47 countries constitutes a political commitment by the participating countries on a "voluntary basis" the actionable portions of this work plan.
"We are considering setting up of a nuclear security Centre of Excellence in China through cooperation with relevant countries in order to play a bigger role in regional nuclear security cooperation," Hu said in his remarks at the Nuclear Security Summit.
With Pakistan obviously on his mind, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh warned on Tuesday, of the dangers posed by nuclear explosives falling into the hands of non-state actors posing danger to India and other countries. Addressing the Nuclear Security Summit in Washington, he pitched for "zero tolerance" against individuals and groups which engage in illegal trafficking of atomic explosives and announced India's decision to set up a 'Global Centre for Nuclear Energy Partnership'.
In the backdrop of fears about terrorists gaining access to nuclear material, leaders from 47 countries, including Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, on Monday assembled in Washington to discuss ways to ensure that such a scenario was averted. At the two-day summit, which is an initiative of United States President Barack Obama, India is expected to voice its concern over the safety of Pakistan's atomic arsenal.
During the meeting with President Barack Obama, Singh said, there was a need to "rewrite" the architecture of global economic system in which the G-20 could play an important role.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh raised the issue of India getting access to 26/11 plotter David Headley with President Barack Obama, who said the US was fully supportive of the request and working through legal processes for giving it.
Nursing "serious suspicions" on India's role in Nepal's political process, Maoist leader Prachanda has said the Indian establishment had failed to "grasp the verdict" of the historic 2008 election and he is keen to discuss his concerns with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.
External Affairs Minister S M Krishna on Saturday conveyed India's 'deep disappointment' to Maoist leader Prachanda over his verbal attacks on the country, terming them 'baseless propaganda'. During a meeting with Prachanda in Kathmandu, Krishna asked the Maoists to fulfill their peace process commitments and join the consensus on concluding the peace process and drafting the new constitution by the targeted date of May 28. Krishna "conveyed deep disappointment".
The United kingdom and France on Saturday joined India in making it clear that there should be no 'double standards' in the fight against terrorism, a view that can be seen in the context of Pakistan. The three countries also highlighted the need to bring to justice the perpetrators of the Mumbai terror attacks and 'vigorous efforts' to deal with terrorism emanating from Afghanistan and Pakistan.
Pushing for a legally binding substantive outcome at the Copenhagen climate change meet, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Saturday said India is willing to sign on to an ambitious global target for emission reduction or limiting temperature increase, if it is accompanied by an equitable burden-sharing paradigm. He denounced attempts by some developed nations to junk the Kyoto Protocol on greenhouse gas emissions.
The United States, which foiled a major terror plot by the Lashkar-e-Tayiba to target India, has cited legal limitations in allowing Indian investigators to quiz arrested operatives David Coleman Headley and Tahawwur Rana. US National Security Adviser James Jones said President Barack Obama has shown personal interest in the Headley-Rana case and the matter was discussed during his meeting with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Tuesday.
The meeting between Dr Singh and Sarkozy on climate change assumes significance as it came just ten days before the Copenhagen Summit on the issue.
The issue of climate change is going to dominate the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting which is being attended by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.
As the stand-off between Iran and the West continues over its nuclear programme, the United States has said India should use its 'influence' to convince the Iranian leadership to accept the 'one of the most reasonable' and 'perfectly plausible' proposal of low enrichment uranium.
Identifying education and business as areas of reconnecting with Indian diaspora, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh invited them on Friday to undertake a 'pilgrimage' to the 'new creative India' and be active partners of the country's development and progress by making use of investment and business opportunities.
Unhappy with the behaviour of Pakistan over terrorism, particularly the Mumbai attacks, India is not too keen to have a foreign ministerial meeting with Pakistan, even though both Union Foreign Minister S M Krishna and his Pakistani counterpart Shah Mahmood Qureshi are in Port of Spain in to attend an international summit.
Indian Consul General in Chicago Ashok Atri, embroiled in a controversy over visa issued to Lashkar-e-Tayiba operative Tahawwur Hussain Rana, has met Union External Affairs Minister S M Krishna and said that no rules had been violated in giving him the travel document, as he had submitted all proper papers for the same.
While the Framework would support small and medium enterprises in exploring new business opportunities, the US-India Financial and Economic Partnership would deal with economic, financial and investment-related issues.
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