Qatar, Turkey Cooperate to Stabilize Situation in Afghanistan

Doha, MINA – In a joint press conference with his Turkish counterpart in the Qatari capital, Doha on Monday, Qatari Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani said Qatar would work with Turkish and Taliban officials to ensure Kabul international airport, location of chaos after the Taliban takeover to function.

Sheikh Mohammed spoke to reporters with Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu after the two met as part of the seventh annual Qatar-Turkey Strategic Dialogue, Al Jazeera reported.

The two-day meeting, co-chaired by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, is expected to conclude with the signing of at least 12 MoUs on Tuesday in various fields including military, health, tourism and education sector.

Cavusoglu said Turkey is trying to work for “peace and stability” in Afghanistan and urged the international community to engage in dialogue with the Taliban and asked them to “distinguish” between the political and humanitarian sides.

“This is what we have done because Afghans are in dire need of humanitarian assistance,” he said, adding Turkey was cooperating with Qatar in offering humanitarian assistance and ensuring Kabul airport remained open.

Qatar and Turkey have strong and strategic ties at the political, economic and military levels. The Supreme Strategic Committee was formed in 2014 to improve relations between the two countries.

On Monday, the two ministers reaffirmed their strong ties, telling reporters they had reviewed various regional and international issues and discussed steps that would further strengthen ties. (T/RE1)

Mi’raj News Agency (MINA)