Need to Move towards Nuclear Weapons-Free World

Visiting Japan, Ban Stresses Need to Move towards Nuclear Weapons-Free World

New York, Aug 3 2010 3:10PM On the first day of his visit to Japan ahead of the commemoration of the 65th anniversary of the atomic bombing of the city of Hiroshima, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today urged the world to work to ensure that nuclear weapons were eliminated.

“We must do everything we can to build on the current global momentum towards a nuclear-weapon-free world,” Mr. Ban told reporters in Tokyo, where he also had a working dinner with Japan’s Foreign Minister, Katsuya Okada.

The Secretary-General and Mr. Okada discussed cooperation between the United Nations and Japan, which is the second largest contributor to the UN regular budget and to that of UN peacekeeping operations.

Mr. Ban lauded Japan's contribution across the range of matters of UN concern during his discussions with Mr. Okada, which also touched on regional issues, including the Korean Peninsula, Afghanistan, Iran, Sri Lanka and Myanmar, as well as conflict in Somalia.

The Secretary-General is tomorrow scheduled to exchange views on international issues with university students and have a meeting with Prime Minister Naoto Kan.

Later this week he will visit Nagasaki and Hiroshima for commemoration activities related to the bombings in those cities in August 1945.

ENDS