Jakarta. Indonesia has denied rumors of Jakarta mulling developing diplomatic ties with Israel to secure a seat at the Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). 

Indonesia is currently pursuing membership to the rich-country club as its ticket to becoming an advanced economy. While accession talks have formally begun, Indonesia will need unanimous approval from all OECD members, including Israel, which has already been part of the group since 2010. Israeli media Ynet recently claimed that Indonesia, Israel, and the OECD had been having discreet negotiations. The talks revolved around the possibility of Indonesia normalizing ties with Israel. In exchange, Israel would give its nod to Indonesia’s OECD membership.

The Indonesian Foreign Affairs Ministry has shot down the said rumors, saying that Jakarta’s stance on Palestine remains unwavering. This includes its support for a two-state solution of having Israel and Palestine live side by side as two independent states.

“To this day, there are no plans to open diplomatic ties with Israel, especially in the midst of Israel’s atrocities in Gaza. Indonesia’s stance has not changed and we consistently remain firm in support of Palestine’s independence within the framework of the two-state solution,” Foreign Affairs Ministry’s spokesman Lalu Muhamad Iqbal told reporters via text on Thursday. 

“Indonesia has always been consistent to be at the forefront of defending the rights of the Palestinian people,” Lalu said. 

The OECD officially launched the talks for Indonesia’s membership in February. OECD Secretary-General Mathias Cormann said at the time that he was preparing a roadmap for Indonesia to follow. Indonesia is planning to adopt the roadmap in May, according to Lalu. Indonesia will also have to go through a rigorous review process aimed at seeing whether the Southeast Asian country has met the OECD standards: be it on trade, anti-corruption, or public governance, among others.

There is no deadline for the accession process, but it usually takes years before a country can officially join the OECD.