At the 15th Annual General Meeting of the Asia-Pacific Safeguards Network (APSN) held on 6 November in Krabi, Thailand, it was announced that Australia will assume the Chair for 2025-2026. Dr. Geoffrey Shaw, Director General of the Australian Safeguards and Non-Proliferation Office (ASNO) will represent Australia as Chair, with ASNO serving as the Secretariat.
Dr. Shaw stated, “Australia’s vision for this appointment includes a greater focus on advancing gender equality, encouraging Pacific engagement, and ensuring senior representation at APSN.”
APSN is a professional network that leverages nuclear safeguards expertise in the Asia-Pacific region to facilitate the exchange of information, knowledge, and practical experience among its members, thereby strengthening nuclear safeguards capabilities.
As a founding member, Australia has played a crucial role in shaping and building APSN. ASNO has been instrumental as the technical lead for APSN’s Safeguards Infrastructure Implementation Working Group. Australia previously chaired APSN from 2010-2014, during its formative years.
Membership of APSN has now expanded to 16 Member States, along with several observers, including the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).
Australia is committed to making meaningful and practical contributions to support non-proliferation. Working with our partners to enhance treaty implementation in our region is central to these efforts, and APSN is key to this mission,” Dr. Shaw emphasized.
APSN’s work is supported by several thematic Working Groups, which bring together communities of practitioners to address various nuclear safeguards challenges.
As part of its role as Chair, Australia will host APSN’s 16th Annual Meeting for the first time in 2025.
Dr. Shaw concluded, “We extend our gratitude to the outgoing Chair, Thailand, and the outgoing Steering Committee Head, Japan, for their successful leadership of APSN during 2023-2024.”