"Unless we rise to the task, we would bequeath to succeeding generations a world of diminishing prospects," he said.
Dr Singh said the opening of international civil nuclear cooperation with India will have a positive impact on global energy security and on efforts to combat climate change.
"This is vindication of India's impeccable record on non-proliferation and to our long-standing commitment to nuclear disarmament that is global, universal and non-discriminatory in nature," he said.
Dr Singh reiterated India's proposal for a Nuclear Weapons Convention prohibiting the development, production, stockpiling and use of nuclear weapons and providing for their complete elimination within a specified timeframe.
He said climate change can be overcome successfully only through a collaborative and cooperative global effort.
Dr Singh said the outcome of the multilateral negotiations under the UN Framework Convention on Climate change must be fair and equitable and recognise the principle that each citizen of the world has equal entitlement to the global atmospheric space.
Image: Dr Singh's wife Gursharan Kaur and daughter Upinder Singh at the UNGA.
Also read: Dr Singh's daughter steps out of the shadows
Advertisement
