Indonesia returned to Mozambique after a lengthy absence and came away with a long list of items to pursue in an effort to reinvigorate a sluggish bilateral partnership across various sectors.

Foreign Minister Retno LP Marsudi ended her first tour of the African continent this year by flying into the Mozambique capital of Maputo on Tuesday, local time, for business match-making and bilateral talks with some of the country’s high-ranking officials. The meetings focused mostly on strengthening trade and investment with one of Indonesia’s biggest partners in Africa.

“Economic cooperation between Indonesia and Mozambique isn’t indicative of the potential that both countries possess,” she said after talks with Mozambique Prime Minister Carlos Agostinho do Rosário and Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation Oldemiro JM Baloi.

During meetings with both the prime minister and the foreign minister, Retno offered a concrete list of economic priorities that both countries should focus on moving forward.

Retno asked Mozambique to provide wider market access to Indonesian investors who are keen to explore projects in the country.

After a 13-year absence, Retno visited the country with an entourage of business players from the private and public sectors, including representatives from the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Kadin), the Indonesia Eximbank and shipbuilder PT PAL.

She hoped that the presence of Eximbank and Kadin would help provide concrete solutions to one of the biggest stumbling blocks in Indonesian-African trade relations: trade cooperation financing.

Indonesian investors include energy players from diversified conglomerates Besmindo Group and Bakrie Group, as well as state-owned train manufacturer PT Industri Kereta Api (Inka), which recently exported its first shipment of passenger trains to Bangladesh. Inka is eyeing Mozambique as its next target, said Daniel Tumpal Simandjuntak, the ministry’s director for African affairs.

During a separate business forum event in Maputo, Retno underlined the importance for both Indonesian and Mozambican businesses to take advantage of all available opportunities in order to revitalize weakening trade and investment ties.

Two-way trade between the countries reached almost US$34 million between January and October last year, continuing a downward trend from $119.46 million in 2015, according to data from the Trade Ministry.

Retno also met with Mozambique President Filipe Jacinto Nyusi to officially invite him to participate in the upcoming Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA) Leaders’ Summit in Jakarta next month.

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