Indonesia is expected to normalize ties with Israel as part of its bid to become the 39th member of the Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development, a diplomatic source revealed on Thursday.
It’s a move that needs the consent of all OECD countries, including Israel, which has been a member state since 2010.
Foreign Minister Israel Katz objected to Indonesia’s inclusion unless it made a gesture toward Israel, such as normalization.
The OECD made normalization with Israel part of Indonesia’s requirements for OECD membership.
It’s a step that comes as Israel has become increasingly isolated on the international stage due to the Gaza war, and it had been presumed that it was not possible to expand its diplomatic ties until the end of that half-a-year conflict.
Israel and Indonesia have long had silent relations in trade and tourism but have otherwise been diplomatic foes on the international stage.
Indonesia had been expected to be one of the countries that would normalize ties under the Abraham Accords, with the former Trump administration promising them 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 plan in the normalization process in a letter 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 inanition 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, the Foreign Minister 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 a vis Israel in particular, notably renouncing its discriminatory policies toward Israel and establishing bilateral diplomatic relations,” said Katz.
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