The agreement between Afghanistan, Turkey and Qatar is in the final stages for operating Kabul airport and several other international airports in the country, said Khairullah Khairkhwa, Islamic Emirate's acting Minister of Information and Culture.

Speaking to Daily Sabah, Khairkhwa said, "Turkey and Qatar and the Afghan government have been nearing an agreement, so hopefully in the near future it will be finalized."

Being asked on the negotiations on the operation of Kabul airport with the United Arab Emirates (UAE), he indicated that currently Doha and Ankara together is the first choice.

"The priority and the preference is Turkey and Qatar," he said, underlining that only if something goes wrong then another country would be considered.

This comes after the Islamic Emirate delegation visited Turkey and met with Turkish officials. Both sides discussed the pending deal on operating Kabul airport and several other international airports in Afghanistan, TOLO news reported.

On Saturday, acting Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi met with Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu and discussed a range of issues, including the Afghan airports. The two sides agreed to resolve the remaining issues in the near future, according to TOLO news.

"The two sides talked on Kabul Airport and other Afghan International Airports, assessing provisions of the contract that needed further discussions, pledging that both countries, including Qatar, would work on solving outstanding issues through technical discussions at the earliest," said the country's Foreign Ministry.

Image courtesy: ANI