JAKARTA – Despite having no diplomatic relations, economic relations between Indonesia and Israel can still continue, officials said.
In fact, Indonesia imports several commodities from Israel, including machinery, mechanical equipment and parts which are included in the Harmonized System (HS) code 84 and have an import value of $4.3 million.
“I can say that, if we don’t have diplomatic relations, it doesn’t mean that we can’t have trade relations economically. It can still be done, because this is business to business,” said the Head of Statistics Indonesia (BPS) Amalia Adininggar Widyasanti on Monday (16/10).
Furthermore, Amalia explained that Indonesia has been importing commodities from Israel since 2020.
At that time, the value of imports from Israel was recorded at $56.5 million. Then, it decreased in 2021 to $26.5 million.
The value of Indonesia’s imports from Israel increased again in 2022, reaching $47.8 million, before decreasing again this year to only reach at least $14.4 million (January–September).
Apart from HS 84, other commodities that Indonesia also imported from Israel were tools and equipment from base metals (HS 82) worth $3.5 million and electrical machinery/equipment and parts (HS 85) worth $2.3 million.
