Problems in coordination between Qatar's authorities and the US army resulted in the plane carrying the Croatian delegation being redirected from the US base El-Udeid to the nearby international airport at Doha early this afternoon.
After long negotiations with competent authorities, which were wrapped up following an intervention by Qatar Assistant Foreign Minister Ali Al Hajwi, the Croatian delegation was transferred to the US base an hour away, from where they should have taken off for Kabul.
However, problems with the engine of the Hercules 130 C cargo plane delayed the flight to Kabul for midnight today. The plane with the Croatian delegation is due to land at the US base Bagram on Thursday morning, from where the delegation will be transported to Kabul by car.
Meetings between Minister Grabar Kitarovic and the commander of the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF), Mauro Del Vecchio, and the UN Secretary-General's special envoy Tom Koenings, scheduled for today, were postponed.
A meeting with members of the seventh shift of the Croatian ISAF contingent at the Warehouse camp in Kabul was postponed for Thursday afternoon.
Minister Grabar Kitarovic and her associates will meet tomorrow with Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai and Foreign Minister Abdullah Abdullah.