Terror Has Evolved, Our Responses Are Old: PM Modi in Washington

Modi said at the Nuclear Security Summit that terrorism poses a big threat to nuclear security.

Washington DC: PM Modi meets John Key on March 31 (Photo: IANS Photo)

Nuclear security must remain an abiding national priority, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on April 1, insisting that all countries must completely abide by their international obligations.

PM Modi commented on nuclear security in his intervention during a White House dinner hosted by the US President Barack Obama that formally kicked off the two-day Nuclear Security Summit.

Nuclear security must remain an abiding national priority. All States must completely abide by their international obligations.

Narendra Modi

Prime Minister Narendra Modi with US President Barack Obama. (Photo: Twitter/Vikas Swarup)

Modi was seated next to Obama during the White House dinner which was attended by heads of States of more than 20 countries in the US capital, for the fourth edition of the Nuclear Security Summit.

Praising the US President for his initiative on nuclear security, Modi said Obama’s legacy must endure. “By putting the spotlight on nuclear security, Obama has done great service to global security,” Modi said.

Threat to Nuclear Security From Terrorism

Dwelling at length on the threat posed by terrorism to the world, the Prime Minister said the Brussels attacks show how real and immediate the threat is to nuclear security from terrorism.

Outlining three contemporary features of terror that the world should focus on, Modi said that firstly, today’s terrorism uses extreme violence as theatre.

Second, we are no longer looking for a man in a cave, but we are hunting for a terrorist in a city with a computer or a smartphone. Third, state actors working with nuclear traffickers and terrorists present the greatest risk.

Narendra Modi

Noting that terror has evolved, Modi said terrorists are using 21st-century technology, but our responses are rooted in the past.

The reach and supply chains of terrorism are global, but genuine cooperation between nation states is not, Modi said.

Drop the notion that terrorism is someone else’s problem and that ‘his’ terrorist is not ‘my’ terrorist. Terrorism is globally networked. But, we still act only nationally to counter this threat.

Narendra Modi to the international community