Saudi Press

Saudi Arabia and the world
Thursday, Sep 18, 2025

United Arab Emirates To Run Kabul Airport In Deal With Taliban: Report

United Arab Emirates To Run Kabul Airport In Deal With Taliban: Report

Under the deal with the UAE, Afghans will be employed at the airports, including in security roles, a criteria that was crucial to the Taliban who staunchly oppose the presence of foreign forces, sources said.

The Taliban and the United Arab Emirates are poised to strike a deal for the Gulf nation to run Kabul airport and several others in Afghanistan that could be announced within weeks, according to sources familiar with the negotiations.

An agreement would help the Islamist militants ease their isolation from the outside world as they govern an impoverished country beset by drought, widespread hunger and economic crisis.

The deal would also hand Abu Dhabi a win in its diplomatic tussle with Qatar for influence with Afghanistan's new rulers.

The Taliban, whose government remains an international pariah without formal recognition, have courted regional powers, including Qatar and Turkey, to operate Kabul airport, landlocked Afghanistan's main air link with the world, and others.

But after months of back-and-forth talks, and at one point raising the possibility of a joint UAE-Turkey-Qatar deal, the Taliban is set to hand the operations in their entirety to the UAE, who had previously run Afghan airports, the sources said.

Under the deal with the UAE, Afghans will be employed at the airports, including in security roles, a criteria that was crucial to the Taliban who staunchly oppose the presence of foreign forces, sources said.

An Emirati state-linked contractor would also provide security services, while talks continue on the management of Afghanistain's airspace, they said.

Emirati state-linked GAAC, which was involved in running security and ground handling services at Afghan airports before the Taliban takeover, was awarded the ground handling contract in May soon after Taliban officials visited Abu Dhabi.

SECURITY CONTRACT


Qatar and Turkey's joint negotiations with the Taliban broke down around the same time, sources said.

Emirati officials had no immediate comment when contacted by Reuters. GAAC did not respond to a request for comment.

A Taliban transport ministry spokesman confirmed an aviation security contract had already been signed with the UAE but said the air traffic contract was not finalised or confirmed yet.

The sources said UAE airlines, which have not flown to Afghanistan since the Taliban takeover last year, were expected to resume flights to Kabul and possibly other Afghan airports after the deal was finalized.

In the months leading up to the ground services contract award, the Taliban repeatedly made unexplained changes to its team negotiating with Qatar and Turkey, the sources said.

Then the Taliban sought to alter agreed terms by upping airport fees and taxes and weaken Qatar and Turkey's control over revenue collection, they added.

A Qatari official had no immediate comment when contacted by Reuters. A Turkish official, speaking on condition of anonymity, confirmed talks with the Taliban had stopped "some time ago".

There is little direct commercial benefit in the airport operations which pose significant security challenges, but Kabul airport would provide a key source of intelligence on movements in and out of the country, Western officials say.

The UAE'S negotiations are part of a quiet but assertive effort by Abu Dhabi to expand longstanding ties with Afghanistan's rulers that has included government aid and diplomatic efforts in the months since the militants took power.

GULF RIVALRIES


Western officials say Abu Dhabi views Afghanistan, which shares a large land border with UAE's Gulf neighbour Iran, as part of its wider backyard and so believes it has legitimate interests in the country's political and economic stability.

Western officials also say the UAE is keen to counter the influence in Afghanistan of Qatar, a Gulf state lauded by Western nations for serving as gateway to the Taliban but a rival of Abu Dhabi's in a contest for regional influence.

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

Qatar has hosted the Taliban's political office in Doha, long one of few places to meet the militants and where the United States negotiated with the militants to withdraw from Afghanistan.

Qatar also helped run Kabul's Hamid Karzai International Airport after the collapse of the Western-backed government last August. Its state-owned Qatar Airways operated charter flights and Qatari special forces provided security on the ground.

But Qatar's relationship with the Taliban now appears to strained, according to Western officials who say the militants have become wary of being too dependent on any one nation.

Newsletter

Related Articles

Saudi Press
0:00
0:00
Close
Saudi Arabia cracks down on music ‘lounges’ after conservative backlash
Saudi Arabia Signs ‘Strategic Mutual Defence’ Pact with Pakistan, Marking First Arab State to Gain Indirect Access to Nuclear Strike Capabilities in the Region
Sam Altman sells the 'Wedding Estate' in Hawaii for 49 million dollars
Turkish car manufacturer Togg Enters German Market with 5-Star Electric Sedan and SUV to Challenge European EV Brands
World’s Longest Direct Flight China Eastern to Launch 29-Hour Shanghai–Buenos Aires Direct Flight via Auckland in December
New OpenAI Study Finds Majority of ChatGPT Use Is Personal, Not Professional
Kuwait opens bidding for construction of three cities to ease housing crunch.
This Week in AI: Meta’s Superintelligence Push, xAI’s Ten Billion-Dollar Raise, Genesis AI’s Robotics Ambitions, Microsoft Restructuring, Amazon’s Million-Robot Milestone, and Google’s AlphaGenome Update
Indian Student Engineers Propose “Project REBIRTH” to Protect Aircraft from Crashes Using AI, Airbags and Smart Materials
Could AI Nursing Robots Help Healthcare Staffing Shortages?
Turkish authorities seize leading broadcaster amid fraud and tax investigation
Qatari prime minister says Netanyahu ‘killed any hope’ for Israeli hostages
Apple Introduces Ultra-Thin iPhone Air, Enhanced 17 Series and New Health-Focused Wearables
Big Oil Slashes Jobs and Investments Amid Prolonged Low Crude Prices
Social Media Access Curtailed in Turkey After CHP Calls for Rallies Following Police Blockade of Istanbul Headquarters
Did the Houthis disrupt the internet in the Middle East? Submarine cables cut in the Red Sea
Gold Could Reach Nearly $5,000 if Fed Independence Is Undermined, Goldman Sachs Warns
Uruguay, Colombia and Paraguay Secure Places at 2026 World Cup
Trump Administration Advances Plans to Rebrand Pentagon as Department of War Instead of the Fake Term Department of Defense
Tether Expands into Gold Sector with Profit-Driven Diversification
Trump’s New War – and the ‘Drug Tyrant’ Fearing Invasion: ‘1,200 Missiles Aimed at Us’
At the Parade in China: Laser Weapons, 'Eagle Strike,' and a Missile Capable of 'Striking Anywhere in the World'
Information Warfare in the Age of AI: How Language Models Become Targets and Tools
Israeli Airstrike in Yemen Kills Houthi Prime Minister
After the Shock of Defeat, Iranians Yearn for Change
YouTube Altered Content by Artificial Intelligence – Without Permission
Iran Faces Escalating Water Crisis as Protests Spread
More Than Half a Million Evacuated as Typhoon Kajiki Heads for Vietnam
HSBC Switzerland Ends Relationships with Over 1,000 Clients from Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Qatar, and Egypt
Sharia Law Made Legally Binding in Austria Despite Warnings Over 'Incompatible' Values
Dogfights in the Skies: Airbus on Track to Overtake Boeing and Claim Aviation Supremacy
Tim Cook Promises an AI Revolution at Apple: "One of the Most Significant Technologies of Our Generation"
Are AI Data Centres the Infrastructure of the Future or the Next Crisis?
Miles Worth Billions: How Airlines Generate Huge Profits
Zelenskyy Returns to White House Flanked by European Allies as Trump Pressures Land-Swap Deal with Putin
Beijing is moving into gold and other assets, diversifying away from the dollar
Cristiano Ronaldo Makes Surprise Stop at New Hong Kong Museum
Zelenskyy to Visit Washington after Trump–Putin Summit Yields No Agreement
High-Stakes Trump-Putin Summit on Ukraine Underway in Alaska
Iranian Protection Offers Chinese Vehicle Shipments a Cost Advantage over Japanese and Korean Makers
Saudi Arabia accelerates renewables to curb domestic oil use
Cristiano Ronaldo and Georgina Rodríguez announce engagement
Asia-Pacific dominates world’s busiest flight routes, with South Korea’s Jeju–Seoul corridor leading global rankings
Private Welsh island with 19th-century fort listed for sale at over £3 million
Sam Altman challenges Elon Musk with plans for Neuralink rival
Australia to Recognize the State of Palestine at UN Assembly
The Collapse of the Programmer Dream: AI Experts Now the Real High-Earners
Armenia and Azerbaijan to Sign US-Brokered Framework Agreement for Nakhchivan Corridor
British Labour Government Utilizes Counter-Terrorism Tools for Social Media Monitoring Against Legitimate Critics
WhatsApp Deletes 6.8 Million Scam Accounts Amid Rising Global Fraud
×