KABUL, AFGHANISTAN – The Taliban have formally requested to participate in the upcoming BRICS summit scheduled for October 22-24 in Kazan, Russia.
According to Russian media, Nooruddin Azizi, the Taliban’s acting Minister of Industry and Trade, sent a letter to Yuri Ushakov, an aide to the Russian president, detailing this request.
The letter, which was seen by the RIA Novosti outlet, indicates that a delegation led by Abdul Ghani Baradar, the Taliban’s economic deputy prime minister, seeks to engage in the summit discussions. The head of the Russian Trade Center in Afghanistan has confirmed the receipt of this correspondence to RIA Novosti.
Since the Taliban’s takeover of Afghanistan, no country has officially recognized them as the legitimate government. However, many neighboring and regional countries have either maintained their embassies or reopened diplomatic missions in Afghanistan.
While Russia has engaged with the Taliban, it has yet to formally acknowledge the interim government or lift its designation of the group as a terrorist organization. However, the country has kept its embassy in Kabul open and has transferred the Afghan embassy in Moscow to Taliban diplomats.
Recently, Russia announced that it is considering removing the Taliban from its list of designated terrorist organizations.
As BRICS members consider the Taliban’s request, the international community is watching closely, especially given that the summit is expected to address significant economic and geopolitical issues.
It remains to be seen whether the Taliban will be granted participation in this summit.
Originally established in 2006 as the “Bric” group by Brazil, Russia, India, and China, the coalition expanded to include South Africa in 2010, becoming “Brics.” Last year, Egypt, Iran, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Saudi Arabia, and Ethiopia also joined the group.
