The annual St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF), Russia’s flagship business and investment event, opened Wednesday with a continued focus on promoting a “multipolar” world amid Moscow’s isolation from the West.

A delegation of the Taliban movement (outlawed in Russia), led by Minister of Labor and Social Affairs Abdul Manan Omari, has arrived in Russia to take part in SPIEF

“They have arrived in Russia,” the official said.

Earlier, Zamir Kabulov, Russian special presidential envoy for Afghanistan and director of the Foreign Ministry’s Second Asia Department, said that apart from the labor minister, the Talbian delegation would also include the head of the Afghan Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

Kabulov also told Russian Press that the foreign and justice ministries had reported to President Vladimir Putin that the Taliban could be removed from the list of banned organizations. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, in turn, pointed out that this initiative reflected objective reality.

This year’s theme is “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.

Among the 50 countries sending government officials to SPIEF 2025 are China, Vietnam, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, the Central African Republic and Burkina Faso.