Exclusive: United Arab Emirates to operate Kabul airport in response to Taliban, sources say

Taliban members stand on the runway of Kabul International Airport in Afghanistan on September 9, 2021. WANA (West Asia News Agency) via Reuters Note editor – This image was provided by a third party. /archive photo

DUBAI, July 7 (Reuters) – The Taliban and the United Arab Emirates are preparing to reach a deal on the Gulf state’s operation of Kabul airport and several other airports in Afghanistan, which could be within weeks, according to sources familiar with the talks. Announce.

The Taliban’s government remains an international pariah and not officially recognized, and the Taliban has approached regional powers, including Qatar and Turkey, to operate Kabul airport, landlocked Afghanistan’s main air link to the world, and more.

But after months of back-and-forth negotiations, and at one point raising the prospect of a joint UAE-Turkey-Qatar deal, the Taliban will hand over all operations to the UAE, which previously operated Afghanistan’s airports, the sources said.

A deal would help Islamic militants ease their isolation from the outside world as they run a poor country ravaged by drought, widespread hunger and an economic crisis. It will also allow Abu Dhabi to gain influence in its diplomatic battle with Qatar.

Under the agreement with the UAE, Afghans will work at airports, including in security positions, which is crucial for the Taliban looking to prove they can create jobs, but also because they are staunchly opposed to the presence of foreign troops, the sources said.

They said a contract to provide security services had been signed with a contractor linked to the UAE state, which should be announced soon, while negotiations on airspace management were ongoing.

Shortly after Taliban officials visited Abu Dhabi, the militants awarded a ground services contract to the UAE state-linked GAAC in May, which was involved in security and ground handling services at Afghan airports before the Taliban took over.

security contract

Meanwhile, joint talks between Qatar and Turkey with the Taliban broke down at about the same time, the sources said.

Emirati officials had no immediate comment when contacted by Reuters.

A GAAC spokesman told Reuters that after the article was originally published, the company had been granted permission to resume its services at Afghan airports after negotiations.

GAAC will provide professional services to “protect civil aviation from unlawful interference” and be able to handle air traffic management and other services, he said in an email.

The spokesperson said that GAAC helped Kabul Airport resume operations last September and that all employees providing services at Afghanistan’s airports are GAAC employees.

“GAAC has decided to discuss with the Afghan authorities and formalize new arrangements for our services at Afghan airports,” he said.

A Taliban Transport Ministry spokesman confirmed that an aviation security contract had been signed with the UAE, but said the air transport contract had not been finalized or confirmed.

Western officials said there would be little direct commercial interest in operating the airport, but Kabul airport would provide an important source of intelligence on activity in and out of the country.

Emirates, which has not flown to Afghanistan since the Taliban takeover last year, is expected to resume flights to Kabul and possibly other Afghan airports after the deal is finalized, the sources said.

Other airlines could also operate flights again if the UAE deal addresses major security concerns, including the threat posed by targeting the Afghan branch of the Islamic State, including the Taliban.

The Taliban has repeatedly made unexplained changes to its teams negotiating with Qatar and Turkey in the months leading up to the granting of ground services to the UAE, sources said.

They added that the Taliban then tried to change the agreed terms by raising airport fees and taxes, and weakening Qatar and Turkey’s control over taxation.

Qatari officials had no immediate comment when contacted by Reuters. A Turkish official, speaking on condition of anonymity, confirmed that talks with the Taliban had ceased “not long ago”.

The UAE’s efforts are part of Abu Dhabi’s efforts to expand its longstanding relationship with the Taliban, which has included government aid and diplomatic efforts in the months since the hard-line militants took power in August.

Gulf competition

Western officials say Abu Dhabi sees Afghanistan, which shares a vast land border with the UAE’s Gulf neighbor Iran, as part of its wider backyard and therefore believes it has a legitimate interest in the country’s political and economic stability.

But the officials also said the UAE is keen to counter the influence of Qatar in Afghanistan, a Gulf state hailed by the West as a gateway to the Taliban but a rival to Abu Dhabi in the battle for regional influence. read more

Western officials worry that the competition is playing out in Afghanistan. The UAE, along with Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Bahrain, severed ties with Qatar from 2017 to 2021, part of a long-running bitter dispute between the two wealthy Gulf states that was largely resolved last year.

Qatar has the Taliban’s political office in Doha, which has long been one of the few places to meet with the militants and where the U.S. negotiated the withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan.

Qatar also helped run the Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul after the collapse of the Western-backed government last year. Its state-owned Qatar Airways operates charter flights, and Qatari special forces provide security on the ground.

But Qatar’s relations with the Taliban now appear strained, according to Western officials, who say the militants have become wary of being too dependent on any one country.

Reporting by Alexander Cornwell, additional reporting by Orhan Coskun in Ankara and Mohammad Yunus Yawar in Kabul; Editing by Jonathan Oatis and William Maclean

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