Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin will travel to Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Bahrain and Kuwait next week, the Pentagon said on Friday, on a “thank you” tour of allies and forces that helped the massive airlift organized by the United States to evacuate tens of thousands from Afghanistan after the Taliban seized control of Afghanistan. country.

Austin plans to travel on Sunday and meet with officials in the region, as well as US military and other government employees.

“During his trip, Secretary Austin will meet with partners in the region and thank them for their cooperation with the United States as we evacuate Americans, Afghans, and citizens of other countries from Afghanistan,” Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said in a statement.

After the curtain came down on its longest war, the United States hastily built an air bridge that did not succeed in evacuating thousands of Afghans who cooperated with it, and a suicide bombing outside Kabul airport killed 13 American soldiers and dozens of Afghans.

This was one of the largest airlifts in history, during which more than 120,000 Americans, Afghans and other nationalities were evacuated.

US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken said on Friday that he would travel to Qatar on Sunday to meet with the Arab country’s officials and thank them for their assistance during the evacuation process.