An international conference on nuclear nonproliferation and disarmament opened Sunday in Hiroshima, the first city struck by an atomic bomb in 1945, said reports from the southwestern Japanese city of Hiroshima.

During three-day meeting co-chaired by former Japanese Foreign Minister Yoriko Kawaguchi and former Australian Foreign Minister Gareth Evans, the International Commission on Nuclear Nonproliferation and Disarmament will discuss concrete measures aimed at reducing the number of nuclear weapons and restricting their use.

A total of 25 commission members were present at the fourth session of the commission, which is expected to unveil the final report in early January on a roadmap to the ultimate goal of a world free of nuclear weapons.

The commission, established at the initiative of Australia and Japan, held its first meeting in Sydney in October 2008.

(Xinhua News Agency October 18, 2009)