Taliban Envoy Seeks Participation In SCO Meetings
The Taliban’s ambassador to Russia said Afghanistan, as an observer member of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, should be allowed to participate in the bloc’s meetings.
The Taliban’s ambassador to Russia said Afghanistan, as an observer member of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, should be allowed to participate in the bloc’s meetings.
In an interview with Russia’s state news agency TASS, Gul Hassan expressed hope that a Taliban representative would be invited to future meetings of the SCO.
Asked whether the Taliban administration sees cooperation with the organisation as possible, he said Afghanistan holds observer status and, in line with that, should attend its meetings.
The Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, founded in 2001, is a regional political and security bloc. Its full members include Russia, China, India, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Pakistan, Iran and Uzbekistan. Belarus joined the organisation in July 2024.
Afghanistan and Mongolia are observer states. Dialogue partners include Azerbaijan, Armenia, Bahrain, Egypt, Cambodia, Qatar, Kuwait, the Maldives, Myanmar, Nepal, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Türkiye and Sri Lanka.
Unlike the Taliban authorities, Mongolia’s representatives have attended SCO meetings in recent years.
Despite diplomatic engagement with Moscow, the Taliban were not invited to the 24th meeting of the SCO Council of Prime Ministers, held in Moscow in November 2025.
The Taliban’s foreign ministry said in April 2025 that China had invited representatives of the group to SCO meetings. However, a Taliban representative was not invited to the SCO foreign ministers’ meeting held in China in July 2025.
Following the absence of invitations, Gul Hassan met in November 2025 with Bakhtiyor Khakimov, Russia’s presidential special representative for SCO affairs, and asked that Afghanistan’s observer status be taken into account.
Russia maintains relations with the Taliban authorities, though the administration has not been widely recognised internationally.
