The Turkish government has agreed to take over responsibility for Kabul's international airport in a $130 million deal with Nato, an Afghan government official told The National.
The deal is likely to be widely welcomed after weeks of uncertainty over the Turkish government's continued commitment to defending Hamid Karzai International Airport.
Several hundred of the Nato member's troops are already stationed at the airport, from which civilian and military aircraft operate.
This will provide assurances to the international community and it is a better solution because the Taliban have never attacked the Turks
As a September 11 total US and Nato troop withdrawal deadline looms and violence surges, the diplomatic community is increasingly concerned over safe travel in and out of Afghanistan.
The details and the exact takeover date are yet to be confirmed, the official said. A second senior source confirmed the deal.
Last month, Afghanistan's Civil Aviation Authority asked Nato to hand over control of the air traffic control tower at Kabul's airport, leading to concerns over the Afghan government's capacity to safely and securely run its international airports after the withdrawal.
"We are struggling with the transition of taking over the airports from Nato control," a government official said last month.
“We don’t have the capacity to run the airports with Afghans alone due to a lack of expertise, nor do we have the financial ability to bring in private contractors.”
Security fears
Three rockets landed close to Kabul's airport in December last year, killing one person and injuring two others. The target and the group responsible remain unclear.
In 2018, a suicide bomber targeted Gen Abdul Rashid Dostum, the exiled Afghan vice president, near the airport. Fourteen people were killed and 60 injured. ISIS claimed responsibility.
The Taliban and ISIS claimed responsibility for a rocket attack on the city's airport intended to kill US defence secretary James Mattis in September 2017. No one was injured and Mr Mattis had left the airport several hours before.
In 2015, a Taliban suicide bomber attacked a checkpoint near the entrance, killing five people and injuring 16.
Andrew Watkins, a senior Afghanistan analyst for the International Crisis Group, said the deal would calm the nerves of international governments and donors, but many issues would remain, even with Turkey running the airport.
“There is a web of capacity gaps in the Afghan authorities’ security information, screening and inspection procedures to prevent smuggling, as well as concerns over the fairness of the contracting process due to prevalent corruption within the government,” he said.
Mr Watkins said there has been no opportunity for Afghanistan to increase its capacity, because air traffic control has been run by Nato military staff since 2004.
"The by-product is there is no opportunity for an organic, local specialised labour force in the field of air traffic control to ever develop. It shouldn't come as a surprise to the international powers that have kept it out of Afghans' hands that it's not something that's transferable and immediately implanted," he said.
Rangin Dadfar Spanta, former national security adviser to Afghanistan's President Ashraf Ghani, said that from 2010 efforts were made to build Afghanistan's capacity to run the international airports by 2014.
But the plan did not come to fruition.
A report published in 2015 found that despite the US government spending approximately $562.2 million to support reconstruction of Afghanistan's civil aviation system since 2002, it was unable to train enough air-traffic controllers for the country to independently operate airspace management services.
This was partly the reason the planned transition of responsibilities did not occur, the report said. Instead, the US facilitated the Afghan government in establishing contracts.
"For the Afghan government to take over control, we need three or four years for transition, but now we have to take over in three months," said Mr Spanta, who spoke to The National before learning of the deal with Turkey.
“Diplomats will not trust [the safety and security of the airport] and they will leave Afghanistan. This is very dangerous.”
Commercial flights to Afghanistan being stopped is a possibility. Some international airlines refused to land in neighbouring Pakistan for more than a decade, resuming only in 2019, owing to concerns over airport security.
Last week, the Australian government closed its embassy in Kabul. Prime Minister Scott Morrison said the closure was because of "an increasingly uncertain security environment where the government has been advised that security arrangements could not be provided to support our ongoing diplomatic presence" as international troops withdraw.
The concern now for the Afghan government and humanitarian organisations is that other embassies will follow suit.
If that was the case, it would signal a lack of confidence in the current Afghan government’s ability to hold things together following the withdrawal.
It would also send a worrying message to Afghans that the international community is abandoning them amid a deteriorating security situation.
That would send a worrying message to Afghans that the international community is abandoning them in a deteriorating security situation.
But Mahmood Shah Habibi, head of the Afghanistan Aviation Support Association, believes that news of Turkey taking over responsibility of Kabul's airport will quell some fears.
"This will provide assurances to the international community and it is a better solution because the Taliban have never attacked the Turks," Mr Habibi said.
“However, it should be a joint venture with the Afghan government or responsibility should be transferred over to Afghans in the next year.
"Afghans were contracted by Nato, but Nato was never admitting Afghans can do the jobs because it didn’t want to lose contracts.”
Nato's foreign and defence ministers met on Tuesday to prepare for the bloc’s first summit with US President Joe Biden on June 14 and to discuss the planned withdrawal from Afghanistan.
In a statement on May 21, Nato Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said the bloc planned to continue financially supporting "the functioning of Kabul airport".
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Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
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Who's who in Yemen conflict
Houthis: Iran-backed rebels who occupy Sanaa and run unrecognised government
Yemeni government: Exiled government in Aden led by eight-member Presidential Leadership Council
Southern Transitional Council: Faction in Yemeni government that seeks autonomy for the south
Habrish 'rebels': Tribal-backed forces feuding with STC over control of oil in government territory
Ten tax points to be aware of in 2026
1. Domestic VAT refund amendments: request your refund within five years
If a business does not apply for the refund on time, they lose their credit.
2. E-invoicing in the UAE
Businesses should continue preparing for the implementation of e-invoicing in the UAE, with 2026 a preparation and transition period ahead of phased mandatory adoption.
3. More tax audits
Tax authorities are increasingly using data already available across multiple filings to identify audit risks.
4. More beneficial VAT and excise tax penalty regime
Tax disputes are expected to become more frequent and more structured, with clearer administrative objection and appeal processes. The UAE has adopted a new penalty regime for VAT and excise disputes, which now mirrors the penalty regime for corporate tax.
5. Greater emphasis on statutory audit
There is a greater need for the accuracy of financial statements. The International Financial Reporting Standards standards need to be strictly adhered to and, as a result, the quality of the audits will need to increase.
6. Further transfer pricing enforcement
Transfer pricing enforcement, which refers to the practice of establishing prices for internal transactions between related entities, is expected to broaden in scope. The UAE will shortly open the possibility to negotiate advance pricing agreements, or essentially rulings for transfer pricing purposes.
7. Limited time periods for audits
Recent amendments also introduce a default five-year limitation period for tax audits and assessments, subject to specific statutory exceptions. While the standard audit and assessment period is five years, this may be extended to up to 15 years in cases involving fraud or tax evasion.
8. Pillar 2 implementation
Many multinational groups will begin to feel the practical effect of the Domestic Minimum Top-Up Tax (DMTT), the UAE's implementation of the OECD’s global minimum tax under Pillar 2. While the rules apply for financial years starting on or after January 1, 2025, it is 2026 that marks the transition to an operational phase.
9. Reduced compliance obligations for imported goods and services
Businesses that apply the reverse-charge mechanism for VAT purposes in the UAE may benefit from reduced compliance obligations.
10. Substance and CbC reporting focus
Tax authorities are expected to continue strengthening the enforcement of economic substance and Country-by-Country (CbC) reporting frameworks. In the UAE, these regimes are increasingly being used as risk-assessment tools, providing tax authorities with a comprehensive view of multinational groups’ global footprints and enabling them to assess whether profits are aligned with real economic activity.
Contributed by Thomas Vanhee and Hend Rashwan, Aurifer
Avatar: Fire and Ash
Director: James Cameron
Starring: Sam Worthington, Sigourney Weaver, Zoe Saldana
Rating: 4.5/5
ACC 2019: The winners in full
Best Actress Maha Alemi, Sofia
Best Actor Mohamed Dhrif, Weldi
Best Screenplay Meryem Benm’Barek, Sofia
Best Documentary Of Fathers and Sons by Talal Derki
Best Film Yomeddine by Abu Bakr Shawky
Best Director Nadine Labaki, Capernaum
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Company profile
Name: Back to Games and Boardgame Space
Started: Back to Games (2015); Boardgame Space (Mark Azzam became co-founder in 2017)
Founder: Back to Games (Mr Azzam); Boardgame Space (Mr Azzam and Feras Al Bastaki)
Based: Dubai and Abu Dhabi
Industry: Back to Games (retail); Boardgame Space (wholesale and distribution)
Funding: Back to Games: self-funded by Mr Azzam with Dh1.3 million; Mr Azzam invested Dh250,000 in Boardgame Space
Growth: Back to Games: from 300 products in 2015 to 7,000 in 2019; Boardgame Space: from 34 games in 2017 to 3,500 in 2019
