By Janet Ekstract
ISTANBUL (TURKISH JOURNAL) – United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres sounded the alarm about the dire conditions that 38 million Afghans are currently experiencing ever since the Taliban took over the government in Kabul. Last week, Guterres urged the international community to donate money for aid to the Afghan people and to that end, a humanitarian conference is scheduled for September 13 in Geneva.
The conference will be a ministerial-level meeting, according to the secretary-general’s spokesman Stephane Dujarric. There is a current need for $1.3 billion Guterres cautioned, in order to get humanitarian aid to those who need it since he said only 39 percent of the humanitarian aid funding goal has been met. The secretary-general has warned of a “humanitarian catastrophe” if aid is not made immediately available. Aid has been coming into the country from Qatar and the U.S. has also provided humanitarian aid as well.
Meanwhile, On Friday, it was announced that U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken is scheduled to meet with Doha’s leaders in Qatar to express deep gratitude for their working closely with the U.S. and the international community to ensure safety and a smooth transition in Kabul. Blinken told reporters at the State Department “We’re working closely with our partners Qatar and Turkey to help get the airport in Kabul up and running as quickly as possible.” Blinken and U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin will be in Qatar to thank the kingdom for their ongoing efforts in Afghanistan.
Senior Biden administration officials will leave on Sunday to meet Doha’s leaders. Blinken said he will have an opportunity to meet with Afghans ıncluding locally-employed staff from the embassy in Kabul. In addition, Blinken will also be traveling to Bahrain, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia.
