Capture Date: Mon, 12/04/2010 - 18:29
CHANNELS:
Pretoria - United States President Barrack Obama has praised South Africa for being the first country to abandon their nuclear weapons programme.
South Africa had, he said, acquired special standing as a "moral leader" for voluntarily dismantling its nuclear programme in 1993.
Obama, who met South African President Jacob Zuma at the Blair House on the eve of the Nuclear Security Summit, took the opportunity to praise Zuma for the leadership his government had shown on non-proliferation.
"I wanted to publicly compliment President Zuma and his administration for the leadership they have shown. And we are looking forward toward the possibility of them helping to guide other countries down a similar direction of non-proliferation," Obama said on Sunday.
The two day gathering at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center in the nation's capital is considered an unprecedented effort to rally global action on securing vulnerable nuclear materials.
In an interview with the SABC, State Security Minister, Siyabonga Cwele said South Africa will convey its experience in the conference.
"For a conference that is at this presidential level, it shows the commitment - these leaders will not just meet at this conference but will strengthen the multi-lateral partnership that will deal with these matters, to ensure that we reduce these types of weapons and use them for peaceful means."
The 47 nations attending the summit will formally recognise the serious threat posed by nuclear terrorism, endorse efforts to secure all vulnerable nuclear materials over a four year period and speak about what countries will do on the national and international level. - BuaNews