Israel wants to develop ties with Indonesia

By Oei Eng Goan

JERUSALEM (JP): Israel wants to build friendly and diplomatic ties with Indonesia and wishes to see their relations develop naturally now that a major change has taken place in the world's largest Muslim country, Israeli Minister of Regional Cooperation Shimon Peres said on Monday.

Peres said there was no reason why Israel and Indonesia should not become good friends as the two countries have never been involved in a conflict nor have they been hostile with each other.

He told a group of visiting Indonesian journalists at the Knesset building that Indonesia under the leadership of President Abdurrahman Wahid had started developing towards democracy and it had brought a great message, not only to Israel but also to the international community.

"While President Wahid may have some problems with his sight, he doesn't have problems with his insight. He takes things in a very impressive and humane way," Peres said.

Indonesia and Israel do not have diplomatic relations, and Jakarta has made it clear that it will not set up ties until the Jewish state acknowledges the existence of an independent Palestinian nation and returns all Arab land currently under Israeli occupation.

"I know that Indonesia is very concerned with the Palestinian issue, but so are we. We don't consider ourselves hostile to the Palestinian or to the Muslim world," Peres noted, adding that the success of Palestinian people is also considered as the success of Israeli people.

"We have relations with the Palestinians so why should Indonesia's be less than the Palestinian (Authority)," remarked Peres, who was Israeli prime minister following the assassination of Yitzhak Rabin by a Zionist zealot in 1995.

When asked to comment on opposition by certain Indonesian Islamic groups to President Wahid's suggestion of establishing ties with Israel, Peres said he understood the situation and the problems faced by the Indonesian President because Indonesia belonged to the Muslim world.

"When I met President Wahid in Davos, I didn't ask him for everything. I know the President has a lot of problems. He told me about his idea of holding an interreligious meeting and about the importance of commercial ties. And I think we must give him time. We agreed that things should take their course nicely and gradually and I'm sure they will." Peres said, adding that Israel "prays for Wahid and that his unorthodox approach will win the day for the benefit and for the good of the people of Indonesia".

Noting the new Indonesian government's interest in improving its agriculture, Peres said that Israel's high technology could help Indonesia in this sector, as it had done so in India and China.

Israel's advanced agricultural technology is known worldwide, in particular its successful conversion of desert land into arable plots.

One of the deputy speakers of the Knesset, Gideon Ezra, who represents the Likud Party opposition in the Israeli coalition parliament, said he fully agreed with idea of having bilateral trade and diplomatic ties with Indonesia, now that the Jakarta government had become more transparent and democratic.

"We are willing to foster ties with every democratic nation in the world, despite the fact that they are Muslim countries," Ezra said, citing the relations that Israel had built with Islamic nations like Algeria and Morocco.

Separately, Israeli Minister of Trade and Industry Ran Cohen said it was his hope direct bilateral trade ties could be established in the foreseeable future, as it would benefit both Indonesia and Israel.

Cohen said that during his meeting with his Indonesian counterpart Jusuf Kalla in Seattle in November, they agreed to continue talks on how to build cooperation in the trade and industrial sectors.

"We can start by having exchange visits of trade delegations, so as to open the hearts of and the roads for our business people to cement trade relations," he added.

Last month, an Israeli trade delegation visited Jakarta to explore ways to expand cooperation with the Indonesian business community. Some Israeli businessmen said, however, that it was difficult for them to come to Jakarta due to the absence of diplomatic ties between the two governments.

Besides, they have to pay a high price for their visas. Currently the Jakarta government charges around US$200 to $250 per visa.