Guterres made evaluations to the Kyodo News agency in Hiroshima, Japan, where he was for the G7 Leaders’ Summit.
Saying that it was “emotional” to be in the city that was exposed to the world’s first atomic bomb on August 6, 1945, Guterres called for “active dialogue and cooperation” between the G7 countries and China on climate change and sustainable development.
“I believe it is very important to prevent the world from being divided in two and to build bridges for serious negotiations,” UN Secretary-General Guterres said.
Guterres, who praised the bravery of atomic bomb survivors, said his previous visits to Hiroshima had “deeply impressed” his “resilience, courage and words”.
“These should be seen by everyone in the world as the main reason for making nuclear disarmament a priority,” Guterres said.
Grain Corridor Agreement
UN Secretary General Guterres emphasized that it is possible to realize the theme of the G7 Summit, “a world without nuclear weapons”.
Noting that the invitation of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy to the summit was a “natural development”, Guterres said he felt “peace is not on the near horizon” in the Russia-Ukraine War.
Regarding the extension of the Black Sea Grain Corridor Agreement on grain shipments from Ukraine, with the efforts of Turkey and the UN, for another 2 months, Guterres said, “This is a matter of doing everything we can to minimize the impact of the war.”
Concerning the world’s nuclear threats, Secretary-General Guterres said North Korea’s record-setting missile tests last year were “unacceptable” and the country’s possession of nuclear weapons “unbearable”.
“When developing countries fail, the world fails”
On the other hand, in his post on his Twitter account, Guterres used the phrase “When developing countries fail, the world fails”.
Noting that he is in Hiroshima to encourage G7 countries to provide financial justice to developing countries, Guterres said, “So they can invest in their people, such as education, health, decent work, gender equality.”