Afghan Taliban hand over 4 key airports to UAE

The Afghan Taliban interim government on Tuesday signed a deal to hand over the country's four key airports to a state-run United Arab Emirates company.

Under the deal, the control and management of four international airports-Kabul, Kandahar, Herat, and Mazar-e-Sharif-will be handed over to the UAE aviation company, according to the state-run Bakhtar News Agency.

The ceremony was attended by acting Deputy Prime Minister Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar and the Afghan and United Arab Emirates officials.
Speaking at the ceremony, Baradar said the Afghan government wanted good relations with all countries, according to a statement by the deputy premier's office.

"Afghanistan has been affected by wars and now we are rebuilding it," Baradar said.

He added that they invite everyone to come and invest in Afghanistan as the Taliban government will provide all facilities and security to investors.

Baradar said the Islamic Emirate is working hard to strengthen the country's economy, adding that with the agreement, all international airlines will return to Afghanistan in peace and the level of trade will increase.

After the Taliban took over in August last year as foreign forces withdrew, Qatar and Turkey sent temporary technical teams to help airport operations and security.