Afghan Businesspeople urge Taliban government to give Kabul Airport contract to UAE

Amid the financial crisis in Afghanistan, businesspeople have asked the Taliban government in Kabul to sign a contract with a company from the United Arab Emirates instead of Qatar and Turkey, who seeks to start operations at Kabul airport. The traders have placed this demand in favor of Afghan nationals, who are present in large numbers and have invested millions of dollars in the UAE. More than 200,000 Afghans are settled in UAE. According to a TOLO News report, a week ago, officials from Qatar and Turkey visited Kabul to discuss the management of Kabul Hamid Karzai International Airport with the Taliban government in Afghanistan.

"This contract is important for the Afghans who are living here. This contract should be given to the UAE. If the flights between Kabul and the UAE are halted, the traders will face serious problems," said the head of the Afghanistan traders council in the UAE, Obaidullah Sadar Khail, reported TOLO News. Ever since the Taliban took control of Kabul, international and domestic flight services, along with other public sectors including banks and schools, have mostly remained shut. Traders highlighted the fact that under the previous government, around 10 flights a day were conducted between Afghanistan and the UAE, but now with the new government, the flight services have dramatically gone down.

"We call on the Islamic Emirate to give the management of the airports to the UAE so that they can help develop the country," said Farid Ruhani, a trader. However, some former members of the Afghanistan Aviation Authority expressed a different opinion on the issue. The former deputy minister of transport, Imam Mohammad Wrimach, said Afghanistan is capable of providing good air aviation services and facilities, but the current government needs to take care of and improve the international norms and other measures for smooth operation.

It is worth mentioning that the Ministry of Transportation had earlier stated that the government had not signed any agreement with any company to run the Kabul airport. Meanwhile, the spokesman for the Ministry of Transportation, Imamuddin Ahmadi, said the technical team had a brief discussion with Qatari and Turkish delegates and the meeting will continue until the government reaches a good agreement. 

Image: AP, Representative