Min Aung Hlaing gets Cambodia red-carpet welcome

Myanmar leader Min Aung Hlaing arrived in Phnom Penh on Friday at the start of a two-day state visit, with images released by his office showing Cambodia giving him a red-carpet welcome.

He is due to meet Cambodia's acting head of state Hun Sen and Prime Minister Hun Manet. Cambodia's foreign ministry said the leaders would discuss ways to strengthen relations and expand cooperation.

Min Aung Hlaing ousted Aung San Suu Kyi's elected government in a 2021 coup, triggering civil war. Myanmar's authorities were unwelcome in many foreign capitals after the coup, and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations has kept Myanmar's leaders out of high-level summits.

Min Aung Hlaing retired as armed forces chief and became civilian president in April after highly restricted elections organised by his junta starting in late 2025. Pro-military parties won easily, Suu Kyi's party was sidelined, she remains jailed, and protest or dissent over the vote was made punishable by prison time.

Cambodia is the fourth ASEAN country, after Thailand, Laos and Vietnam, to welcome Min Aung Hlaing since he became civilian leader.