KABUL: Afghanistan's Taliban government is interested in joining the BRICS economic forum, a spokesman said ahead of the group's summit in Russia.
The summit of emerging economies, which includes Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, will meet from October 22 to 24 in the southwestern Russian city of Kazan.
“The world's richest countries and largest economies are associated with the BRICS forum, especially Russia, India and China,” said Hamdullah Fitrat, deputy government spokesman.
“We currently have good economic ties and trade exchanges with them. We are interested in expanding our relations and participating in the BRICS economic forums,” he said.
The Taliban authorities have not been officially recognized by any country, but have maintained growing relations with the founding nations of the BRICS, including China and Russia.
The group, which has recently expanded to include Iran, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt and Ethiopia, has not publicly reacted to the Taliban government's comments.
A spokesman for the Afghan Foreign Ministry said: AFP on Wednesday that “so far they had no information” about an invitation to the event.
Both Moscow and Beijing have expressed their willingness to invest in commercial projects in Afghanistan and to cooperate with the Taliban authorities in their fight against the Islamic State of Khorasan, also known as Daesh.
