ST. PETERSBURG, June 5. /TASS/. The delegation of the Taliban (movement banned in Russia) has arrived at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF) to develop economic relations with Russia and other countries, a delegation member told TASS.

"We are here for economic reasons. This is an economic forum, and we want to boost economic relations with Russia and other countries of the region," he said.

The Taliban delegation to SPIEF includes Public Works Minister Abdul Manan Omari and Charge d'Affaires to Moscow Jamal Nasir Garwal.

Kabulov earlier told TASS that the Russian Foreign and Interior Ministries had informed President Vladimir Putin that the Taliban movement could be taken off the list of banned organizations. Later, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov pointed out that the move to take the Taliban movement off the terrorist stop list makes sense given the current state of affairs.

The St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF) will be held on June 5-8. This year’s theme will be "The Formation of New Areas of Growth as the Cornerstone of a Multipolar World." Scheduled events include meetings for small and medium-sized businesses, creative industries, the SPIEF Youth Day, as well as the Drug Security, SPIEF Academy and SPIEF Junior forums. SPIEF is organized by the Roscongress Foundation. TASS is the information partner of the event.