Turkey’s Foreign Minister, Mevlut Cavusoglu, said on Monday that Qatari and Turkish corporations had signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to operate five airports in Afghanistan.
Officials from Qatar and Turkey are set to visit Afghanistan on Wednesday to meet with the interim Taliban-led government and negotiate a formal agreement to manage Kabul’s Hamid Karzai International Airport.
“In this framework, we will present the interim government of Afghanistan with joint offers. Our colleagues are heading to Doha tonight [Monday] and they will travel together to Kabul from there to discuss the issue with the interim government there,” Cavusoglu told a news conference in Ankara.
The Turkish foreign minister stated that the current accord includes Kabul airport as well as four others.
“If our conditions are met, we can operate the airports with Qatar. If the conditions are not met, there is no obligation for us to operate them,” added Cavusoglu.
Following the final departure of foreign troops from Afghanistan on August 31, Qatari and Turkish technical teams were dispatched to Hamid Karzai International Airport to repair damages at the Taliban’s request and in conjunction with the international community.
