Monday, May 23 2005 17:26 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

Moscow: Asserting that India is a responsible nation, President A P J Abdul Kalam today (May 23, 2005) said it will never be a proliferator of weapons of mass destruction.

"When we are surrounded by nuclear armed countries, we did not have any other alternative but to become a nuclear weapon State," he told senior members of Duma, the Russian Parliament, including its Speaker, IN Moscow.

Though India has not signed the Non Proliferation Treaty (NPT), it is a non-proliferator of weapons of mass destruction and a very responsible nation, said the President, who is on a four-day visit to Russia, the first by an Indian President since the collapse of the former Soviet Union.

Kalam said the recent Weapons of Mass Destruction and their Delivery System (Prohibition of Unlawful Activities) Bill 2005 mooted by the UPA (United Progressive Alliance) Government emphatically confirms that India would never be a proliferator.

The developed world has realised how responsible India is on international issues, he said adding, "All nations want India to be their friend."

On India's relations with its neighbouring countries, Kalam said recently he and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had met Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf.

"The people have started moving between the two countries and the train journey will also start between the two countries".

Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao had also visited India recently and "We had very good discussions. Both countries have evolved guidelines for mutual progress. Definitely peace prevails in our borders", he said.

Suggesting that it was not good for the world to be a unipolar one, the President said, "For us to have peace in this planet, we need a multi-polar world. India and Russia are strategic partners and share this concept and they should work together to strengthen this and work for world peace."

Speaking on Indo-Russian partnership, the President termed the Brahmos supersonic missile as the result of convergence of two great minds.

"This is the model, the joint venture from design, development, production and marketing which will result in prosperity of people of our two countries."

He said cooperation between India and Russia could enlarge into many areas such as knowledge-production, knowledge-system and new areas like bio-info-nano technology convergence.

"The intensity of cooperation between India and Russia especially in business and trade has to increase to the level of $ 25 billion in three years time", Kalam said.