Israeli delegation pays rare visit to Indonesia
While Jakarta is reluctant to advance diplomatic ties with Jerusalem, there is room to expand trade and economic relations.
An Israeli delegation visited Muslim-majority Indonesia in late July. The organizer, the Israel-Asia Center, said the trip was intended to explore the potential for bilateral connections through investment, start-up ventures and social impact initiatives.
As the two countries do not maintain diplomatic relations and Israelis rarely receive visas to visit Indonesia, the Israeli delegation was composed of people with dual citizenship. Israel does offer visas under certain conditions for Indonesian Christian and Muslim pilgrim groups wishing to visit the Holy Land.
The Israel-Asia Center is an Israeli nonprofit organization that runs a range of leadership programs in a wide array of sectors, including business, investment, media, education, government, diplomacy, tech, health care and international development. It operates not only in Asian countries with whom Israel has diplomatic ties but also in some countries that have no diplomatic ties with Israel, such as Indonesia and Malaysia. To date, it has secured over $250 million in investment between Israel and Asia.
Rebecca Zeffert, the center's founder and executive director, told Al-Monitor that the Israeli delegation to Indonesia was comprised of investors, heads of chambers of commerce, tech professionals and innovators. Most of them, she noted, are alumni of the center’s Israel-Indonesia Futures program. She said, “While in Jakarta, the delegates met Indonesian business leaders, university presidents, entrepreneurs and investors. They also visited start-up hubs and accelerators.”
