diff --git a/src/fontations/Cargo.toml b/src/fontations/Cargo.toml
index 126478214..28f072fa1 100644
--- a/src/fontations/Cargo.toml
+++ b/src/fontations/Cargo.toml
@@ -15,3 +15,7 @@ libc = "0.2"
 name = "harfbuzz_fontations"
 path = "lib.rs"
 crate-type = ["staticlib"]
+
+[profile.debugoptimized]
+inherits = "release"
+debug = true
diff --git a/src/fontations/meson.build b/src/fontations/meson.build
index 0ab043bb9..fd1d58dcd 100644
--- a/src/fontations/meson.build
+++ b/src/fontations/meson.build
@@ -11,8 +11,8 @@ hb_rs = rust.bindgen(
 cargo = find_program('cargo')
 
 buildtype = get_option('buildtype')
-if buildtype == 'release'
-  cargo_args = ['--release']
+if buildtype == 'release' or buildtype == 'debugoptimized'
+  cargo_args = ['--profile', buildtype]
 else
   cargo_args = []
 endif