*Deputy prime ministers meet US state and defence secretaries
HE the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of State for Defence Affairs Dr Khalid bin Mohammed al-Attiyah and HE the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani met in Doha Tuesday with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin.
The meeting dealt with reviewing bilateral cooperation and following up on the latest security and political developments in Afghanistan, as well as efforts made to enhance security and stability in that country.
The US Secretaries of state and defence expressed the United States of America's thanks and appreciation to Qatar for its effort and support of the peace process in Afghanistan, and its pivotal role in facilitating the evacuation of US citizens, citizens of allied countries, and Afghan civilians.
Later addressing a joint press conference, Sheikh Mohammed said Qatar hoped Kabul airport would be up and running for passengers in the next few days, but no agreement on how to run it had yet been reached.
Blinken denied reports that the Taliban had blocked Americans attempting to fly out of a northern Afghan city, but said the group had not allowed charter flights to depart because some people lacked valid travel documents.
In a post on its Instagram account, the US embassy in Doha quoted Secretary of State Antony Blinken as saying: “It’s not a coincidence that we’ve transferred our Afghanistan diplomatic operations to Doha…we know that Qatar will be our partner, because this is not the first time that Qatar has stepped up to help.”