Turkey, Qatar, Taliban agree on "several key issues" to manage, operate Kabul Airport
Jan 29, 2022
Kabul [Afghanistan], January 29 : A trilateral meeting between Turkey, Qatar, and the Taliban officials agreed on "several key issues" on how to manage and operate Kabul Airport.
The Ministry of Transport and Civil Aviation said that the Taliban has reached an agreement with Qatari and Turkish joint ventures on the details of aviation security, ground services and airspace of the five airports of the country at a meeting held in Doha on Thursday, reported Tolo News.
"The details have been discussed, a series of general decisions have been taken, but the talks are still ongoing and we are moving in a positive direction," said Imamuddin Ahmadi, spokesman for the Ministry of Transport and Civil Aviation.
Meanwhile, the Qatari Foreign Ministry said that the three-party delegation agreed on "several key issues" on how to manage and operate Kabul Airport. However, the Qatari Foreign Ministry did not provide further details, reported Tolo News.
The former chairman of the Afghanistan Civil Aviation Authority (ACAA) called on the Taliban to prepare the terms of the agreement in such a way as to provide a fair and equal basis for Qatari and Turkish companies to operate with domestic companies.
"If the contract is to be regulated from the beginning for the operating contract, the liability of the airlines should become a supervisory role over a period of two to three years," said Mohammad Qasem Wafayeezada, former chairman of the ACAA, reported Tolo News.
Since the fall of the previous government, regular commercial flights have been suspended in the country.
Now with the handover of the Kabul, Herat, Kandahar, Mazar, and Khost airports to foreign companies, optimism about the resumption of these flights has increased, reported Tolo News.
"Aviation services at Kabul Airport by international companies will have a positive impact on the resumption of flights," said Ghulam Masum Masumi, air traffic expert.