KABUL – The Taliban is handing over control of the country’s airports to a state-run UAE company, a statement from the prime minister’s office said on Tuesday.
“After a long discussion,” Baradar said at the time of signing the agreement. He added that he hoped the development would be “another step” in encouraging international investment in Afghanistan to reduce the country’s “suffering”.
“It will open the door to investment for other countries,” he said. “Countries that are interested in investing in Afghanistan, we can guarantee their security.”
The main international airport in Kabul, Afghanistan, was vandalized in August as the city’s security forces melted away and Taliban fighters took control of the capital.
Thousands of Afghans fled desperately, destroying vital equipment such as radar and communications equipment, forcing almost all international commercial airlines to suspend flights to Afghanistan.
The transfer of control of the facility to a company with technical expertise to repair and operate an international airport could be the first step in resuming international flights after more than nine months of Taliban occupation.
Currently, Ariana and Kam Air are the only airlines flying internationally to Afghanistan.
Qatar initially provided engineering teams to partially repair some navigation and radio systems that allowed Afghan airlines to resume service. But with the exception of fully functional radar, the insurance costs associated with using Kabul airport make commercial use largely unusable.
Afghanistan is grappling with a spiraling economic crisis and some Taliban officials have called for international investment to reduce unemployment and inflation. But for most companies and banks, international economic sanctions on Taliban leaders are the most important barrier to investment.
