Indonesia aims to attract more than $5 billion of investments in the oil and gas sector from the UAE and the Middle East, Antara News Agency reported.

The UAE government is interested in investing in Indonesia, engaging in joint investments for a multi-billion dollar action plan, according to the UAE Energy Minister Suhail Al Mazrouei.

“Indonesia is among the 16 largest economies in the world. It also has the potential to rank among the world’s top 10,” the minister noted.

“We are striving to improve cooperation. It does not have to be in the oil and gas and mining sectors but can also be in infrastructure, financial sector, tourism, or small and medium enterprises financing,” Indonesia’s Energy and Mineral Resources Minister Ignasius Jonan Jonan explained after his meeting with Al Mazrouei in Jakarta.

Cooperation could help create many job opportunities in Indonesia, and the “UAE is optimistic about holding discussion with Pertamina on increasing investment and developing more oil and gas fields,” Al Mazrouei indicated.

Al Mazrouei is heading the UAE delegation participating in the joint meeting of the UAE-Indonesia Economic Work Team, which was received by Jusuf Kalla, Vice President of Indonesia, according to Emirates News Agency (WAM).

Indonesia’s Pertamina recently revealed plans to increase production from its oil and natural gas production fields in Algeria by 10% in 2019 and 2020.

Indonesia is expected to double its refining capacity to 2 million b/d by the end of 2026.