Israeli officials are in contact with Indonesian officials regarding the normalization of ties, according to a report by i24NEWS earlier this week.

A senior Foreign Ministry official confirmed to i24NEWS that contacts are taking place and are being facilitated by the US.

“The goal is to normalize relations with Indonesia and Saudi Arabia,” the official said. “These are the two countries we want to reach an agreement with, but it is a slow process that takes a lot of time and effort. We hope for the best.”

On the same subject, a Times of Israel report on Wednesday said that the next top candidates to normalize ties with Israel are the Muslim-majority island nations of The Comoros and Maldives, according to diplomatic sources. The sources confirmed that there are ongoing contacts but no announcements are expected in the near future.

Israeli officials confirmed that the US facilitated talks between Comorian and Israeli officials last October. The Comoros, which has never recognized Israel, initiated The Hague’s six-year investigation into the Maavi Marmara incident.

The Maldives once maintained ties with Israel but suspended them in 1974. Relations began improving in the 1990s and Israel and the island nation signed three cooperation agreements in 2009. The Maldives’ then-foreign minister, Ahmed Naseem, became the first senior official to visit Israel in 2010.

(YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)