Qatar's Lolwah Al Khater discusses Afghanistan with US officials

A senate member put forward a draft resolution before Congress to thank Qatar for its evacuation efforts.

Qatar’s Assistant Foreign Minister and Spokesperson Lolwah Al Khater held meetings with several US officials in Washington over the weekend to review ties and discuss a number of issues of common concern between Doha and Washington.

It was a pleasure to host you Madam Assistant Foreign Minister! https://t.co/wq5kKI3aWj

— U.S. State Dept – Near Eastern Affairs (@StateDept_NEA) October 2, 2021

Among the key topics on the agenda was Afghanistan, with all parties agreeing on the importance of maintaining humanitarian assistance to the Afghan people and “enhancing the right to education”, as well as the protection of women’s rights in the country, according to Qatar’s Foreign Ministry [MOFA].

The Gulf state has been playing a notable diplomatic role throughout the Afghan peace process, especially since the Taliban’s takeover of Kabul on 15 August. Doha has managed to facilitate the largest airlift of people in history, evacuating over 50,000 Afghans and foreigners from the country.

Al Khater’s meeting with the US diplomats also touched on projects set to take place under the Qatar-US Year of Culture 2021 as well as preparations for the strategic dialogue between both countries.

The meeting came days after US Senator Lindsey Graham put forward a draft resolution to the senate that would showcases America’s gratitute to Qatar for its “critical role” in the evacuation of Americans and foreign cooperators from Afghanistan.

According to Al Jazeera, the draft resolution expresses its appreciation for Qatar’s support to temporarily house evacuees while awaiting departure to their final destination.

Doha has also worked to ensure that the Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul resumes operations.

A fifth passenger flight departed Kabul’s airport to Doha’s Hamad International Airport [HIA] on Sunday, carrying 235 passengers.

The latest flight is the second-largest Qatari passenger evacuation flight since 31 August. The majority of the passengers were Afghan citizens.