Press Releases

1. On April 11 and 12, the 8th NPDI (Non-Proliferation and Disarmament Initiative) Ministerial Meeting will be held in Hiroshima.

2. Guest speakers for this Ministerial Meeting are expected to be Pr. Marty Natalegawa, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Indonesia, one of the two Co-Presidents of the Conference on Facilitating Entry into Force of the CTBT, Ambassador Enrique Roman-Morey, Chairman of the third session of the Preparatory Committee for the 2015 NPT Review Conference, and Ms. Rose Gottemoeller, Under Secretary of State for Arms Control and International Security for the U.S. State Department. This is the first time the U.S. and Indonesia have been invited to a Foreign Ministers’ Meeting of the NPDI as guest speakers.

3. Discussion with these guest speakers is expected to serve for bridging between nuclear-weapon States and non-nuclear-weapon States, and to make effective proposals for the 2015 NPT Review Conference. In advance of the visit of U.S. President Mr. Barak Obama to Japan, it is helpful that the U.S. representative will participate in this Ministerial Meeting held in Hiroshima where the first atomic bomb was dropped.

4. Additionally, in order to spread awareness of the humanitarian aspect of nuclear weapons to the world across generations, a “Youth Exchange Program for a World without Nuclear Weapons” (tentative) involving young people from NPDI member countries is planned to be held with the cooperation of Hiroshima City and the Hiroshima City Board of Education. Two “Youth Communicators for a World without Nuclear Weapons” who are Hiroshima residents are also scheduled to participate, and an opportunity will be given for them to voice their thoughts on “a world free of nuclear weapons” directly to the foreign ministers of NPDI member countries.

5. Through these events it is anticipated that the vision to achieve “a world free of nuclear weapons” will spread across generations and borders.