The 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. 

Popular

Indonesian islanders lose ground as islets put on sale

Labubu dolls ride China soft-power wave

A democratic reckoning for global development finance