An international summit to be held in March will discuss ways to prevent nuclear terrorism, Indian officials said on Tuesday, following a preparatory meeting in capital New Delhi.

Officials from 49 countries met to lay the ground for the nuclear security summit to be held March 26-27 in Seoul.

"The main objective of the nuclear summit process has been to focus high-level global attention on the threat posed by nuclear terrorism," Foreign Secretary Ranjan Mathai said.

"Security of nuclear materials is fundamentally a national responsibility but there is considerable scope for international cooperation to strengthen nuclear security objectives and standards."

Mathai said the participating countries would discuss measures to secure the management of highly-enriched uranium, steps to guarantee radiological security as well as combating illicit trafficking.

The United Nations, Interpol, the European Union and the International Atomic Energy Agency would all attend, he said.