Normalization between the two countries had been planned but untimely sidelined after the breakout of the ongoing war.
Indonesia is expected to normalize ties with Israel as part of its bid to become the 39th member of the OECD, a diplomatic source revealed on Thursday.
The Southeast Asian nation is home to the largest Muslim population of any country. Its normalization with Israel would send a powerful signal of acceptance for the Jewish state at a time when it is facing increased isolation due to the Gaza war.
The potential for Israeli-Indonesian normalization came about because all Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development countries, including Israel, have to approve its membership bid to that international economic organization.
Foreign Minister Israel Katz objected to Indonesia’s inclusion unless it made a gesture toward Israel, such as normalization.
To help ensure Indonesia’s accession to the OECD, the organization made normalization with Israel part of Indonesia’s requirements for membership.
Israel and Indonesia have long had silent relations in trade and tourism but have otherwise been diplomatic foes on the international stage.
Former prime minister Yitzhak Rabin visited Jakarta already in 1993. According to the OECD, Indonesia’s exports to Israel amounted to $187 million in 2022, while Israeli imports to the archipelagic state were valued at $68.5m.
Indonesia had been expected to be one of the countries that would join the Abraham Accords, under whose rubric Israel agreed to normalize ties with four countries, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Morocco, and Sudan.
The former Trump administration had pushed for Indonesia to become the fifth Abraham Accord country, promising them at least a billion dollars to do so.
Normalization plans were tabled as a result of the October 7 attack
Plans for the two countries to normalize ties had proceeded under the Biden administration but were scuttled as a result of the Israel-Hamas war, which began on October 7 when the terror group invaded the Jewish state.
They were revived this winter through the OECD membership process. Among the signs of a shift in their relationship was Israel’s decision to allow Indonesia to participate in the airdrops of humanitarian aid into Gaza, a step it had denied Turkey, with whom it has diplomatic ties.
The OECD outlined its understanding of the role it would play in the normalization process in a letter OECD Secretary-General Mathias Cormann wrote to Israel, dated March 26.
“I am pleased to confirm that Council has formally agreed to a clear and explicit pre-condition that diplomatic relations must be established with all OECD Members before any decision to invite Indonesia to become a Member of the Organization,” Cormann wrote.
This means, he stated, that “the final initiation to Indonesia to become an OECD Member will not be tabled for a decision by Council before diplomatic relations have been established with all OECD Members,” he stressed.
“Moreover, I recall that in conformity with Article 16 of the OECD Convention, any future decision to invite Indonesia to become an OECD Member will require unanimity among all OECD Members, including Israel,” he wrote.Katz, in a letter to the OECD dated April 10, thanked the OECD.
“I share your expectation that this process will be a transformative one for Indonesia. I am looking forward to a positive change in Indonesia’s policies in general and vis-à-vis Israel in particular, notably renouncing its discriminatory policies toward Israel and establishing bilateral diplomatic relations,” the foreign minister said.
11/04/2024 by THE JERUSALEM POST
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