Israeli trade delegation visits Indonesia

Israeli trade delegation visits Indonesia

JERUSALEM (Reuters): An Israeli delegation has gone to
Indonesia to look into opening up trade relations between the
Jewish state and the world's largest Muslim country, a foreign
ministry official said on Sunday.

"It is the beginning of some kind of relationship between
Israel and Indonesia in the economic and commerce sectors," she
said.

Almost immediately after being elected in October, the new
Indonesian President Abdurrahman Wahid publicly expressed
interest in opening economic and trade relations with Israel,
which led to this trip, the official said.

Indonesia subsequently postponed the plan after an uproar
among Muslim groups opposed to any links with the Jewish state.
Opponents have staged repeated demonstrations against the
proposed ties.

Although the Israeli trip is no secret -- Abdurrahman is aware
of the trade meetings that are to take place -- Israeli officials
are not pleased the information reached the media before the
delegation's return, the foreign ministry official said.

"We wanted it to be publicized after they returned," she said.
"But Wahid claims he can deal with the protests...I still hope
there won't be protests while they are there."

Because of the Arab-Israeli conflict, Indonesia has not wanted
formal relations with Israel.

But Abdurrahman, who has made clear that pulling Indonesia out
of its worst economic crisis in more than 30 years is his top
priority, sees Israel as a potentially lucrative export market,
the foreign ministry official said.

Representatives from the Industry and Trade Ministry and the
Federation of Israeli Chambers of Commerce are included in the
delegation which left for Indonesia on Saturday.

The Israelis, guests of Indonesian regional chambers of
commerce, will investigate areas that could be of interest to
Israeli businesses, such as agriculture, telecommunications and
high-tech, the official said.

Indonesia has already started allowing Israelis to receive
visas directly from its embassies, she said. Until now, Israelis
had to go through Jordan or Singapore to enter Indonesia.

However, Israel is still officially on the list of countries
Indonesians are not allowed to trade with, the official said.
Israel in response requires Indonesian businesses to receive
special licenses to export to Israel.

Israeli Industry and Trade Minister Ran Cohen said last week
he had met his Indonesian counterpart at the World Trade
Organization meeting in Seattle and the Indonesian minister had
expressed great interest in relations with Israel.

"We think this is an area of huge economic potential, billions
of dollars," said Uri Stein, the ministry's spokesman.