Israel welcomes Indonesia's call for better relations

Israel welcomes Indonesia's call for better relations

JERUSALEM (AP): Israel welcomed on Friday an announcement by Indonesia's new government that it plans to improve its relations with the Jewish state.

Israeli foreign ministry spokesman Effie Ben-Matityahu said these "signals" seem to indicate a change for the better.

"Israel already enjoys very good relations with a growing number of Muslim countries and there is no reason why these should not include Indonesia," he told Associated Press.

Israel has had full diplomatic relations with Egypt and Jordan for some years. On Friday, Mauritania, which is also a member of the Arab League, joined them.

Indonesian Minister of Foreign Affairs Alwi Shihab, speaking after the government was sworn in on Friday, said Jakarta would improve economic relations with Israel.

"We have to open our doors to all nations, including Israel, so that they will know we have a new program that is also open to investors from every country," Shihab said.

Earlier this week, new Indonesian President Abdurrahman Wahid made a similar statement.

Abdurrahman, who is a member of the Shimon Perez Foundation, has never hidden his attraction for the Jewish state.

He came under strong criticism for visiting the Jewish state in 1994 before he was President.

But he told Arab ambassadors in Indonesia earlier in the week that Indonesia would not establish diplomatic relations with Israel until it had achieved peace with its Arab neighbors.