AKIPRESS.COM - President of Kazakhstan Nursultan Nazarbayev has become Special Honorary Citizen of Hiroshima on November 9, the Akorda's press office said.

Nazarbayev thanked the Hiroshima authorities for granting him the title of Special Honorary Citizen. "The Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki are a global symbol of the humanity's struggle against weapons of mass destruction. The whole world appreciates your efforts and invaluable contribution to building a world free of the nuclear weapons," Nursultan Nazarbayev said.

He visited Hiroshima to pay tribute to the tens of thousands of victims of the atomic bomb in the past century.

"A visit to Hiroshima and familiarity with the Memorial Peace Park exhibits once again reinforced my belief in the importance of the initiatives we have put forward in the field of nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation. Being here in Hiroshima, seeing the horror of the effects of the atomic bomb, I urge the world leaders to renounce nuclear testing and prevent the recurrence of the nuclear tragedy," the Head of State said.

Nazarbayev also noted that during the talks with Prime Minister of Japan Shinzo Abe, the sides signed an agreement on joint fight against the threat of mass destruction weapons.

Hiroshima Mayor Kazumi Matsui on behalf of all residents of the city thanked Nursultan Nazarbayev for his visit, emphasizing that granting him the Special Honorary Citizen Title comes from the appreciation of his merits in the struggle for a nuclear-free world.

"You closed the Semipalatinsk nuclear test site on August 29, 1991, based on the wishes of the people of Kazakhstan. You came forward with the initiative to create a nuclear-free zone in Central Asia and to announce August 29 as the International Day against Nuclear Tests. You are at the forefront of organizing a world without nuclear weapons," Matsui said.