A drastic increase in official exchanges between Indonesia and Afghanistan in the last two years has brought the diplomatic relationship between the two countries to the next level, Afghan Ambassador to Indonesia Roya Rahmani said on Thursday evening.

Ten months after the first-ever state visit of Afghan President Mohammad Ashraf Ghani to Indonesia in April 2017, Rahmani said Afghanistan was honored to welcome President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo for a state visit on a snowy day in Kabul.

Jokowi visited Afghanistan in January, making him the second Indonesian president to visit the country after Sukarno in 1961.

“A month later, Vice President Jusuf Kalla visited Afghanistan as our special guest and held numerous meetings with our leaders and officials and laid the foundation for a new clinic in the Indonesian Islamic center in Kabul,” Rahmani said at a reception for the 99th anniversary of Afghan Independence Day.

In late February, Kalla attended the Kabul Peace Process Conference, where he officially accepted Afghanistan’s request to host the International Ulema Conference on Peace and Development in Afghanistan.

Afghan Independence Day is celebrated on Aug. 19 to commemorate the Anglo-Afghan Treaty of 1919, which relinquished Afghanistan from British protectorate status.

Rahmani noted that Foreign Minister Retno LP Marsudi had made four visits to her country over the course of one-and-a-half years, paving the way for enhanced bilateral relations.

The direct engagement resulted in the Bogor Ulama Declaration for Peace, the outcome of a trilateral ulama meeting in May. The declaration eventually served as a reference document for peace and stability in Afghanistan and beyond, she said.

Rahmani also noted the visit of Women’s Empowerment and Child Protection Minister Yohana Susana Yembise in May 2017. The first Indonesian minister to visit Afghanistan, Yohana delivered a keynote speech on women and peace in a symposium.

Yohana, who was the event’s guest of honor, shared Rahmani’s view on bilateral relations.

“This is marked by the evergrowing and intensified exchanges at all levels, including between our leaders,” Yohana said, remarking how unprecedented it was that a visit by the President was followed by one by the Vice President within one month.

The reception was attended by Kalla, Wahid Foundation director Yenny Wahid and a delegation led by Afghan Chief Executive Abdullah Abdullah.

Abdullah recalled the lasting impact of Sukarno’s visit to Afghanistan. “I was 1 years old but there’s many stories told by our elders about it. And it is still being remembered,” he said.

“Today [Thursday], during my official visit, we met with Vice President Kalla and President Jokowi this morning,” he said.

Jokowi and Kalla received Abdullah separately on Thursday morning.

Speaking after the meeting, Kalla said he talked with Abdullah about opportunities to bolster bilateral cooperation, including in the economy, industry and mining.

“[We also talked] about how Indonesia can support and execute its role in efforts toward the peace process in Afghanistan,” he said.

The two countries also renewed their commitment to strengthening bilateral ties and cooperation, as Jakarta looks forward to continue in efforts to help Kabul in a peacebuilding process.

“We are grateful for your support for the peace process through arranging the ulema conference […] As the result of visits by the presidents of both countries and yourself [Kalla], our cooperation has expanded between both countries,” Abdullah said in his statement.

He said the delegation from Kabul held a meeting on Wednesday evening with the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Kadin). Furthermore, he encouraged business communities from Indonesia to visit Afghanistan and said he sought opportunities for potential joint ventures and investment.

Retno said Indonesia and Afghanistan also discussed strengthening trade relations and possible cooperation in the energy and mining sectors, although the focus of the latter was in the context of capacity building.

Energy and Mineral Resources Minister Ignasius Jonan had invited Afghan experts to take education courses in Indonesia that also provided scholarships for Afghan university students, Retno said.

In terms of continuing support for the peace process in Afghanistan, Indonesian ulemas were set to attend a bilateral ulema conference between Afghanistan and Pakistan in October, Retno said.

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