TINT Executive Director speaking at the panel of 14th ASEAN Regional Forum Inter-Sessional on Non-Proliferation and Disarmament

 TINT Executive Director speaking at the panel of 14th ASEAN Regional Forum Inter-Sessional on Non-Proliferation and Disarmament

The 14th ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) Inter-Sessional Meeting on Non-Proliferation and Disarmament (ISM on NPD) was held from 16 – 17 May 2023 at Colombo, Sri Lanka and via a videoconference, hosted by Sri Lanka and co-chaired with Thailand and the United States of America.

The ARF ISM focused on broad regional topics such as disarmament, nonproliferation, and peaceful uses of nuclear energy where ASEAN member states and regional participants will dialogue and exchange their views. At the meeting, Assoc. Prof. Thawatchai Onjun, Ph.D., Executive Director of Thailand Institute of Nuclear Technology (TINT) was invited as a Thai representative to present an overview of Thailand’s partnership with the Foundational Infrastructure Responsible Use of Small Modular Reactor (SMR) Technology or FIRST program, highlighting Thai’s initial preparation for SMR in the future, TINT survey study on dominant SMR technologies, and the national policy on carbon neutrality that Thailand announced during COP26 leading to the revision of the Power Development Plan (PDP) to include more alternatives of clean energy sources—SMR, for example.

Regarding the FIRST program—a capacity building program the U.S. designed to support partner countries who consider SMRs to meet their clean energy needs with secure and safe nuclear power—Thailand officially joined the program in February 2023. The activities that were well designed for Thailand are to be implemented during 2023-2024.