The Indonesian government pushed forward efforts to strengthen global nuclear security architecture during the 2016 Nuclear Security Summit in the US, the Foreign Ministry said on its official website in Jakarta on Monday.

“Providing security for nuclear and radioactive materials and nuclear facilities is very important to prevent the materials from falling into the hands of terrorists or other irresponsible parties,” said Vice President Jusuf Kalla as quoted by the ministry.

Kalla, who led the Indonesian delegation, made the statement during the summit, which was held in Washington DC from March 31 to April 1.

Kalla said the Indonesian government considered it important to create a world free from nuclear weapons to prevent terrorists from misusing them.

During the summit, Kalla took the opportunity to condemn a number of recent terror attacks in several major cities, such as Ankara, Brussels, Istanbul, Jakarta, Lahore and Pakistan.

He highlighted that Indonesia had continued to increase efforts to fight terrorism and called on countries to reaffirm their commitment to fighting terrorism in all forms and manifestations, including terrorism using nuclear weapons.

The 2016 Nuclear Security Summit discussed various achievements and progress on various joint initiatives and commitments agreed upon by world leaders in previous summits. Nuclear Security Summits have been held in Washington DC in 2010, in Seoul in 2012 and The Haag in 2014.

A number of key issues discussed at the summit included international cooperation in the strengthening of nuclear security architecture, efforts to increase the security of nuclear materials and radioactive sources and preventing nuclear and radioactive materials from falling into the hands of non-state actors, who do not have right to use them.

Just like in previous summits, in the 2016 Nuclear Security Summit, each participating country conveyed a summary of its national achievements on nuclear security. The summit resulted in a communiqué and plan of action, which generally contained commitments of all participating countries to strengthen nuclear security architecture at all levels.

All of the countries also agreed to push forward international cooperation and international nuclear security architecture through the strengthening of legal instruments and to create an international environment that is peaceful and stable through a decrease in nuclear terrorism threats.

The 2016 Nuclear Security was led by US President Barack Obama, as host and initiator of the summit, and several international organizations, including the UN, Interpol, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and the Global Initiative to Combat Nuclear Terrorism. (ebf)

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