Media put blinders on a bright nuclear vision

Among the many topics discussed at the G20 Summit in London on April 2, some suggestions with deep human, economic and strategic dimensions were not given the attention they deserved by the world media.

The proposal for a nuclear-free world by US President Barack Obama has topped the list of these suggestions.

"The US is committed to seek the peace and security of a world without nuclear weapons, a ban on nuclear testing, a boost to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons and creation of a nuclear fuel bank to allow peaceful development of nuclear power," Obama said in his speech.

This is a crucial suggestion that if implemented would reflect positively on the global economy and elimination of world poverty and diseases.

It is known that military expenditure of nuclear countries exceeds $1.5 trillion (Dh5.5 trillion) annually, out of which $534 billion is spent by the US alone on its military arsenal, mostly on nuclear weapons and the costly regular maintenance of these weapons.

If countries all over the world are convinced of this proposal, a radical change would happen at the global level and positively affect all sectors, especially in nuclear countries suffering from poverty and annual budget and balance of trade deficit.

At the global level, it would be possible for nuclear countries to allocate a portion of their expenditure on nuclear arms to help needy countries and provide food for millions of people who die every day of hunger and malnutrition.

Providing medicines and vaccinations to millions of children in Africa and Asia, which is an invaluable humanitarian service, will be better than expenditures on nuclear arms and their maintenance, especially when there is hardly any possibility of using such arms.

At each country's level, saving hundreds of millions of dollars would make it possible to invest large amounts in setting up new projects that offer thousands of jobs and develop health and educational services.

This will also lead to an increase in spending on productive sectors and improvement of living standards, especially in India, Pakistan, Iran, China and Russia.

On the other side, the United States and the European Union, which have been badly affected by the global financial downturn, are in urgent need to reduce non-productive expenditure, the first of which is expenditure on the destructive nuclear military. They also need to utilize a lot of their resources to tackle the economic crisis.

Due to his high level of education, Obama did not leave things to coincidences or different interpretations. He unveiled his vision for a nuclear-free world with a proposal on setting up a nuclear fuel bank for all countries around the world that seek peaceful nuclear power, it being the cheapest fuel and less polluting.

Countries around the world, especially the nuclear ones, must respond positively to Obama's suggestion and help push ahead the proposed nuclear fuel bank.

Another important matter is setting necessary rules and regulations that prevent any single party or various parties from taking advantage of the nuclear fuel bank.

Britain was among the first countries to support Obama's proposal expressing its readiness to reconsider its nuclear programme.

Other countries are expected to support this proposal and backing of countries such as Russia, France and China is important.

History will not forgive former US president Harry S. Truman for bombing Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Yet, if Obama succeeds in gaining international support for implementing his proposal, he will be praised by history as the US President who rid the world of nuclear arms and subsequently saved the earth.

The writer is a UAE economic expert.