Introductory statement to Board of Governors, 13 September 2010, Vienna, Austria

Last month, I had the honour of attending two very important ceremonies in my homeland in commemoration of the devastating nuclear catastrophes in Hiroshima and Nagasaki. This was the first time that the ceremonies were attended by the United Nations Secretary General, the U.S. Ambassador to Japan and the IAEA Director General. I sensed a new momentum towards achieving a world free of nuclear weapons. I used the occasion of my visit to Nagasaki to make my own personal commitment to redouble my efforts to help bring about a world free of nuclear weapons. There are four elements to this commitment: First, I believe the IAEA should do what it can to facilitate the implementation of nuclear disarmament through verification. We recently received a joint letter from Secretary of State Clinton and Minister of Foreign Affairs Lavrov, on behalf of the United States and the Russian Federation, requesting IAEA assistance to independently verify implementation of their agreement on the disposal of plutonium no longer required for defence purposes. Second, the IAEA should, when requested, work to support the creation of new nuclear-weapon- free zones and continue to help in implementing agreements relevant to such zones. Third, the Agency's safeguards activities should be strengthened in order to help prevent the proliferation of nuclear weapons. Fourth, the IAEA should redouble its efforts to support States in their national efforts to prevent terrorist groups from acquiring nuclear weapons. I intend to focus strongly on the goal of helping to achieve a world free of nuclear weapons, under the guidance of the Board of Governors