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Wednesday 23 Dec 2015 - 12:23 Makkah mean time-12-3-1437
Jakarta, (IINA) - A senior minister has denied on Monday reports that the Indonesian government was planning to grant Israeli tourists visa-free access, Jakarta Globe reported.
Indonesia, the world's largest Muslim-majority nation, has no official diplomatic relations with Israel, and news of the possible addition of Israel to the visa-free list immediately sparked controversy. Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs Rizal Ramli confirmed on his Twitter account that indeed there had been a proposal to include Israel in a list of an additional 80 nationalities to be given visa-free access, but it has been decided to remove the Jewish country from the list.
The Republika news website quoted Foreign Affairs Minister Retno Marsudi as saying that Rizal was the one to talk to about the visa-free list, as she was in Sydney when the news appeared.
Indonesia has long been a staunch supporter of Palestinian independence, but senior officials have in recent years indicated that the country might mediate in the Middle East conflict. For that to happen, Indonesia should develop a relationship with Israel as well, Vice President Jusuf Kalla has suggested.
The visa-free policy is meant to boost Indonesia's tourism numbers, as Tourism Minister Arief Yahya has set an ambitious target of attracting 20 million foreign visitors per year by 2020, which would be twice the current number.
Earlier this year, Indonesia increased the number of countries whose citizens are allowed visa-free access for tourism purposes to 47, and Rizal said that the policy had a positive effect on visitor numbers.
AG/IINA
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