DOHA, 07 December 2021, (TON): Qatar’s foreign minister has reiterated his country’s position on addressing the situation in Afghanistan, saying Doha will continue to work towards enhancing humanitarian and economic efforts in the war-torn country.

In a joint press conference with his Turkish counterpart in Qatar’s capital Doha, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani said “Qatar will work with ally Turkey and Taliban officials to ensure that Kabul’s international airport, the site of chaotic scenes after the Taliban takeover, continues to function.”

Sheikh Mohammed was speaking to reporters alongside Turkey’s FM Mevlut Cavusoglu after the pair met as part of the seventh annual Qatar-Turkey Strategic Dialogue.

The two-day meeting, co-chaired by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, is expected to end with the signing of at least 12 MoUs on Tuesday across various fields including the military, health, tourism, and education sectors, among others.

Cavusoglu said Turkey was seeking to work for “peace and stability” in Afghanistan as he urged the international community to engage in dialogue with the Taliban and called on them to “differentiate” between the political and humanitarian side of things.

He said “this is what we have done as Afghans are in urgent need of humanitarian assistance,”

He added that Turkey is cooperating with Qatar on offering humanitarian assistance and on ensuring Kabul’s airport remains open. Qatar and Turkey have a strong and strategic relationship at political, economic and military levels.