KABUL - Afghan Taliban officials will attend a major United Nations climate conference that starts next week, the Afghan Foreign Ministry said on Sunday.

The COP29 climate summit in Azerbaijan's capital Baku will be among the highest-profile multilateral events attended by Taliban administration officials since they took control in Kabul after 20 years of fighting NATO-backed forces.

The UN has not allowed the Taliban to take up Afghanistan's seat at the General Assembly, and Afghanistan's government is not formally recognized by UN member states.

ALSO READ: UN-led Doha meeting with Taliban sparks outcry over women's rights

Afghan Foreign Ministry spokesman Abdul Qahar Balkhi said officials from the National Environmental Protection Agency had arrived in Azerbaijan to attend the COP conference. The Taliban took over the agency when they returned to power as US-led forces withdrew. 

Taliban officials have taken part in UN-organized meetings on Afghanistan in Doha.