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ndonesia is offering Uganda joint infrastructure projects worth tens of millions of dollars amid ambitious plans to “intensively” open up new markets in Africa.

During a meeting with Uganda’s second deputy prime minister, Kirunda Kivejinja, Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi expressed the government’s interest in working with Uganda on infrastructure projects estimated to be worth between US$20 million and $30 million.

The offer comes ahead of the Jakarta-initiated Indonesia-Africa Infrastructure Dialogue (IAID) that is to be held in August next year, which Retno referred to as a “very strategic” occasion.

“Indonesia is intensively opening new trade markets in Africa,” the minister said in a statement issued after receiving Kivejinja at Pejambon, Central Jakarta, on Tuesday.

“Indonesia is hoping that Uganda will actively participate in the IAID and invite Uganda-related parties to work together in designing a number of joint-venture projects on infrastructure.”

During the talks, Retno invited the Ugandan senior official to make use of services from the state-owned export financing agency, Indonesia Eximbank, to jointly fund the projects.

While the Ugandan side was not immediately available for comment, the offer also comes amid concerns that Uganda’s heavy reliance on foreign borrowing could still lead to a spike in debt.

According to the Uganda Debt Network (UDN), a think tank that tracks Uganda’s public debt, the country “still relies on external and domestic debt, which stands at 27 percent of GDP”.

According to the ministry statement, Uganda is one of Indonesia’s important trade partners in East Africa.

The partners, who have maintained ties since 1982, saw their trade increase by 3.41 percent per annum on average between 2013 and 2017. Their trade balance reached $34.34 million last year, up 55 percent from 2016 figures.

Additionally, Retno told Kivejinja that Indonesia was keen to be Uganda’s development partner, especially through technical cooperation in the field of agriculture, fisheries and forestry, as well as small and medium enterprises.

Minister Retno also discussed a proposal for the establishment of a preferential trade agreement (PTA) between Indonesia and the East African Community (EAC).

Kivejinja, who is Uganda’s minister for East African Community Affairs and chairman of the EAC council of ministers, supported the initiative and pledged to discuss the issue with other EAC members, said Daniel Tumpal Simandjuntak, the Indonesian Foreign Ministry’s African affairs director.

“Mr. Kivejinja supported our foreign minister’s proposal to hold a preliminary meeting between Indonesia and the EAC to [establish the] PTA,” Tumpal told The Jakarta Post.

Kivejinja, visiting Indonesia from Monday through Thursday, is also scheduled to visit the Research, Technology and Higher Education Ministry to discuss human resources development; the Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry to discuss energy cooperation; and the Trade Ministry, as well as the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, to develop the trade partnership.

Jakarta has repeatedly expressed its keen interest to expand trade and investment opportunities into so-called “non-traditional markets”, including African countries, in an effort to boost exports. It initiated the Indonesia Africa Forum (IAF) in April to this end.