T

he month of August will mark 61 years of Indonesia’s pursuit for nuclear science and technology for peaceful purposes.

Indonesia joined the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) on Aug. 7, 1957, the same year the agency was established. Eight years later in 1965, the country’s first nuclear reactor was inaugurated by then-president Sukarno in Bandung, West Java. Since then, nuclear reactors and related facilities have been utilized solely for peaceful activities, including research, training and the production of radioisotopes.

With our multilateral diplomacy in the area of “atoms for peace” continuously strengthening, Indonesia has been actively involved in various debates, such as those centered on technical cooperation, nuclear safety and nuclear applications to ensure their successful implementation and the attainment of maximum benefits from our membership in the international organization, as stipulated in Presidential Decree No. 64/ 1999.

Indonesia has also further intensified its leadership role in the agency. Last September, Ambassador Darmansjah Djumala was elected by acclamation as chairman of the agency’s board of governors for 2017-2018. Indonesia thus assumed the leadership of one of the highest policy-making bodies of the IAEA, comprising 35 countries and elected from regional groups among 170 member countries.

Notwithstanding Indonesia’s enduring vision, active roles and leadership, it remains unclear whether diplomacy in a multilateral setting, such as the IAEA, can really have a positive impact on our social and economic development.

A closer look at Indonesia’s involvement in the political dynamics within the agency could show an alternative view to such skepticism.

Diplomacy plays its role in “struggles” for programs of our interest, mainly in two standing committees of the agency, namely its program and budget committee (PBC) and the technical assistance and cooperation committee (TACC).

In both forums, Indonesia, with the Group of 77 and China, a coalition of 134 developing countries, uphold the principle that the technical cooperation program is vital to bolster socioeconomic progress in developing countries.

Thus, we champion a sufficient and balanced distribution of the agency’s budget, reflecting equal importance of the three pillars of the agency — the promotion of peaceful uses of nuclear technology, including technical cooperation, nuclear safety and nuclear safeguards.

As a result, regular budget allocations for important operations for developing countries such as nuclear science, nuclear techniques and technical cooperation for development has increased over time, reaching approximately 105.8 million euros in 2018 and 107.5 million euros for 2019.

The target of the agency’s revenue from extra budgetary resources allocated exclusively for technical cooperation activities known as the technical cooperation fund (TCF) was also increased from 85.6 million euros in 2018 to 86.1 million euros for 2019.

What do these positive trends actually mean for Indonesia?

The budget increase provides greater space for our efforts to maximize the benefits of our membership in the agency. Our authorities — the National Nuclear Energy Agency (BATAN) and the Nuclear Energy Regulatory Agency (BAPETEN) — can make greater efforts to ensure that the technical cooperation program remains responsive and relevant to the needs of our people.

With the support of the technical cooperation program and other relevant international organizations such as the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), Indonesia has been able to progress in areas directly related to social and economic development.

For instance, nuclear techniques have enhanced varieties of soybean seeds to improve production in Sukorejo, East Java. A variety of soybean developed using irradiation, Mutiara 1 has a yield of around 3 tons per hectare, 25 percent higher than that of normal varieties.

Another tangible result is the invention of more than 22 superior varieties of rice with radiation mutation techniques. Gamma irradiation is used to induce mutations in seeds so that better characteristics arise.

One of them is the rice variety Inpari Sidenuk, which can adapt well to climate change effects, such as strong winds. The variety has doubled yields of up to 9 tons per hectare, as experienced by farmers in Mangaran, East Java.

Both examples provide evidence that decisions made through a lengthy political and budgeting process in multilateral forums, such as the IAEA, could eventually be translated into concrete cooperation programs that have direct impacts on society.

However, there are a number of actions that Indonesia should take to better pursue its long-standing vision of using nuclear science and technology for peaceful purposes. It is thus crucial to redouble efforts to ensure that the agency’s technical cooperation is supported by sufficient, assured and predictable resources.

Our active involvement in important political coalitions such as the G77 and China should be maintained to attain collective support, particularly in contentious deliberations such as the budget for technical cooperation.

At the national level, public awareness on the peaceful uses of nuclear technology should be increased. Nuclear technology is often associated only with nuclear weapons. In fact, nuclear technology also contributes to the development of food, agriculture, health, industry, manufacturing, energy, etc.

There is, therefore, merit to strengthen efforts in developing nuclear education and outreach programs to improve public support and confidence-building in nuclear safety so that nuclear technology can be made feasible, affordable and available to a wider community.
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