Indonesia and Russia discuss nuclear energy cooperation

His comments came after meeting Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto (pictured above, left with Likhachev), and discussing areas of cooperation in the peaceful use of nuclear technology.

Likhachev said: "It's especially important for us that the nuclear dialogue between Russia and Indonesia is developing in an atmosphere of trust and mutual respect. Today, Indonesia has set ambitious goals for developing its nuclear energy sector, so we're discussing more than just technology - we're also talking about establishing a long-term partnership focused on developing a new industry, training national personnel, developing new competencies, and strengthening the country's technological independence."

Talks during the visit, which included meetings with the Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources and the Director of the state-owned PT PLN electricity company, also covered how to integrate nuclear energy into the nation's system taking into account the geography of the archipelago.

According to a report by the official Russian Tass news agency, Likhachev told reporters after the talks: "We are ready to offer maximum localisation of technological processes both at the stage of nuclear power plant construction and at the servicing stage. We have absolutely fantastic figures in Belarus, Turkey, and Egypt … they are not simply building the plant and earning money - they are acquiring competencies and then joining us at other facilities."

The agency reports him as saying that Belarusian specialists are "currently actively working on construction of the Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant in Bangladesh, while Rosatom plans to involve Turkish partners in construction projects in Hungary".

Indonesia has operating research reactors and has had long-standing ambitions to develop its nuclear energy capacity, with proposals for both large-scale and small modular reactors being developed over the past 20 years.