RRI.CO.ID, Geneva — Indonesia has officially signed an International Cooperation Agreement (ICA) with CERN on April 21, 2026, in Geneva, Switzerland, following two years of negotiations and intensive cross-agency coordination. The agreement was signed in a circular manner by CERN Director-General Mark Thomson and Head of the National Research and Innovation Agency (BRIN) Arif Satria.

According to an official statement from Indonesia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs received in Jakarta on Friday, the agreement is part of the government’s strategic efforts to expand Indonesia’s global research network, an initiative first launched in November 2023 by BRIN’s Quantum Physics Research Center. Formal negotiations for the ICA began in March 2024 and were substantively concluded in November 2025, before being approved by the CERN Council in December 2025.

BRIN Deputy for Development Policy, Nunung Nuryartono, said the cooperation is expected to deliver broad benefits to society and enhance Indonesia’s competitiveness in science and innovation.

The ICA is considered a key milestone in strengthening Indonesia’s science diplomacy, as it provides a solid legal framework to expand access for researchers, students, and national institutions within CERN’s research ecosystem.

Indonesia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs will lead follow-up discussions on derivative protocols of the ICA to ensure national interests are accommodated, including strengthening human resource capacity through scholarship programs and researcher exchanges.

The cooperation also opens strategic opportunities for Indonesian researchers to participate in major research projects at CERN, including the ALICE experiment at the Large Hadron Collider.

Through this agreement, Indonesia is expected to further strengthen its position as a strategic partner in global scientific advancement, while demonstrating the effectiveness of its diplomacy in opening access to collaboration with leading international scientific institutions.