The governments of Turkey and Qatar have reached a preliminary deal over running the Kabul airport operations, Reuters reported quoting Turkish diplomatic sources.  

The Ministry of Transportation and Civil Aviation also confirmed that it reached an agreement with the Turkish and Qatari technical teams over management of main Afghan airports.  

The ministry said that a technical team of the ministry is expected to travel to Qatar to continue negotiations.

“There was a general agreement over aviation and security of the (airport). It needed clarification to examine which fields were in need of technical affairs,” said Imamuddin Ahmadi, a spokesman for the ministry.  

This comes as earlier the UAE had reportedly held talks with the Islamic Emirate’s officials over the running of airports in Afghanistan.  

Second Deputy of the Prime Minister, Abdul Salam Hanafi, alongside other top officials of the Islamic Emirate, has held talks with the Turkish ambassador and Qatar’s special envoy over the fate of five major airports in Afghanistan.  

The Qatar Foreign Ministry in a statement said that the delegation of the state of Qatar and the Republic of Turkey held "intensive negotiations" over two days in Kabul regarding the management and operation of Kabul airport.  

“The three parties expressed their satisfaction with the course of talks and agreed to complete the discussion in a new round in Doha next week,” the statement read.   

“The management of the airport will be run by the Afghanistan Civil Aviation Authority. Only those sections which are facing a lack of technical teams will be contracted with the foreign companies,” said Mohammad Qassim Wafayezada, head of ACAA.   

This comes as some traders complain over the lack of airlines to transfer the Afghan products abroad.  

“Lack of international flights has inflicted a $3,000 loss for my company,” said Shirbaz Kamin Zada, head of the Chamber of Industry and Mines.  

“The sooner the better--it will benefit Afghanistan in several aspects such as trade, export and import, and people’s traveling,” said Sayed Masoud, an economist.