Indonesia hailed the signing of a peace deal between the United States and the Afghan Taliban in Qatar over the weekend, calling it a “first step” forward in the ongoing peace process.

The Taliban's political chief met with senior diplomats from countries including Russia, Indonesia and Norway, hours after signing the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) deal with Washington aimed at ending the Afghan war, the hard-line Islamist group said in a statement on Sunday.

Saturday's accord was signed in the Qatari capital Doha by US special envoy Zalmay Khalilzad and Taliban political chief Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, with US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on hand to witness the ceremony.

Soon after the agreement, US President Donald Trump said he would be personally meeting leaders of the Taliban in the near future and rejected criticism surrounding the deal signed with the Islamist insurgents.

Baradar met foreign ministers from Turkey, Uzbekistan and Norway in Doha along with diplomats from Russia, Indonesia and neighboring nations, the Taliban said, a move that signaled the group's determination to secure international legitimacy.

"The dignitaries who met Mullah Baradar expressed their commitments toward Afghanistan's reconstruction and development," said Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid as quoted by Reuters. "The US-Taliban agreement is historic."

"Baradar received congratulatory messages and thanked them [ministers and diplomats] for attending the ceremony," he said.

Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno LP Marsudi, who was among those who attended the signing of the CPA, offered her warm congratulations and hopes that more would come out of this historic moment for Afghanistan.

“Hopefully these initial steps will pave the way for sustainable peace in Afghanistan. Commitment from all parties is needed to continue in the interests of the people of Afghanistan,” Retno said in a statement received on Sunday.

Progress in various fields, such as democracy and women's empowerment, should be continued and used as an asset for the next process, the intra-Afghan dialogue, she insisted.

In the CPA agreement, the US said it was committed to reducing the number of its troops in Afghanistan to 8,600 — from the current 13,000 — within 135 days of signing the deal and working with its allies to proportionally reduce the number of coalition forces in Afghanistan over that period, if the Taliban adhere to their security guarantees and ceasefire.

A full withdrawal of all US and coalition forces would occur within 14 months of the deal getting signed, if the Taliban held up its end of the deal, the joint statement said.

Concurrently, the government of Afghanistan and the US has announced a joint declaration in Kabul to support the peace agreement between the US and the Taliban.

“Communication and contact with all parties involved, including the Taliban, will continue to be carried out, especially in order to build trust among parties involved,” Retno said according to the statement.

Prior to the signing ceremony, the Taliban had ordered all its fighters in Afghanistan to refrain from violence against civilians, Afghan and Western forces.

The Taliban ruled Afghanistan from 1996 to 2001 after seizing power following years of civil war and imposed many restrictions on women and activities it deemed "un-Islamic".

After being ousted from power in 2001, the Taliban have led a violent insurgency against the internationally backed government, killing thousands.

The Afghan war has been in stalemate for more than 18 years, with the Taliban increasingly controlling or contesting more territory, yet unable to capture and hold major urban centers.

Indonesia's increased contribution to the peace process of Afghanistan began in 2017 when Afghan President Ashraf Ghani visited Indonesia to meet President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo. Ghani at the time requested that Indonesia, the world’s largest Muslim-majority country, play an active role in the peace process.

Jokowi visited Afghanistan the following year and suggested the formation of a committee of religious scholars from Indonesia, Pakistan and Afghanistan to promote peace and reconciliation in Afghanistan.

In May 2019, Jakarta hosted a trilateral ulema conference with participants from Indonesia, Afghanistan and Pakistan — and included members of the Taliban. Two months later in July, then-vice president Jusuf Kalla met with Mullah Baradar in an effort to broker peace between the Taliban and the Afghan government.

After her visit to Doha, Retno stopped by in Kabul to launch a women's capacity building program through the Indonesia-Afghan Women Solidarity Network with several Indonesian womenleaders.

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