SINGAPORE: President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam said on Tuesday that India was willing to work with any other country for "total [nuclear] disarmament" and reiterated New Delhi's no-first-use policy.

Talking to presspersons on board his special Air India aircraft "Tanjore" en route to Singapore, the President, who will also travel to the Philippines and South Korea, said that the Americans and the Russians had 10,000 nuclear warheads between them. While warheads had been increasing, no nuclear war had taken place, he pointed out. According to the President, the capability of India's nuclear weapons was a deterrent.

One of the objectives of his three-nation tour was to spread the message of peace. By meeting political and spiritual leaders during his travels, the President said he was trying to understand "why peace was eluding us".

Is there any way to bridge the spiritual component of all religions? All religions said "you should be a good fellow", but still peace had proved to be an elusive commodity.

Asked about the linkages being made between Islam as a religion and terrorism, the President took the view that terrorism came out of "certain long-standing, historical issues."

Three-dimensional model

"I have a model on how to eliminate terrorism," Mr. Kalam said, adding that he discussed this issue with visitors from abroad who came to meet him in New Delhi.

Drawing a link between poverty and terrorism, the President said he had a "three-dimensional" model to remove terrorism from the world. First, education had to be based on value systems. Second, religion had to be transformed into a spiritual force. And, third, there was the need for global efforts to tackle poverty.

"As long as poverty is there, below poverty line people are there, there will be some sort of terrorism," the President said, commending the Government of India's resolve to lift 260 million people out of poverty by 2020.

According to him, terrorism required an integrated solution. If there was prosperity in one place, and poverty in another, the problem would not be solved.

Mr. Kalam said New Delhi had not refused permission to the IIM-Bangalore to open a campus in Singapore. The institution needed to change its charter for the purpose.

"I am connected"

Asked whether he might be disturbed by the Union Cabinet again as had happened with the Bihar President's rule issue during his Moscow visit, Mr. Kalam said there was "nothing like disturbance" in the electronic world. "I'm connected," the President said, adding that when India was "sleeping", other countries were "awake."

His meetings with Singapore leaders are scheduled to commence on Wednesday.

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