Kuwait approves evacuation of 5,000 Afghans to US

US ambassador in Kuwait Alina Romanowski checks on US evacuees from Afghanistan transiting through the country, in Kuwait City on Aug. 19, 2021. (US Embassy in Kuwait/AFP)

• Kuwait called for the need to ensure safe passage for diplomats and foreign nationals
• UAE, Qatar and Bahrain are also helping transit evacuees from Kabul

LONDON: Kuwait has approved the passage of 5,000 Afghans who will be evacuated to the United States, the foreign ministry said on Sunday.
The move was ordered by Kuwait’s Emir Sheikh Nawaf Al-Ahmed Al-Jaber Al-Sabah and is “in appreciation of the strategic ties between Kuwait and the US,” the ministry said.
The UAE, Qatar and Bahrain are also helping transit evacuees from Kabul through their airports.
Kuwait called for the need to ensure safe passage for diplomats and foreign nationals and facilitating evacuations from Afghanistan.
Last month, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the subject of relocating Afghan interpreters came up during meetings he held in Kuwait.
Many Afghans who worked with NATO forces fear reprisals from the Taliban, who seized the capital Kabul a week ago.
(With Reuters)