Min Aung Hlaing set for first Thailand visit as leader

Myanmar leader Min Aung Hlaing is expected in Thailand on Thursday for his first visit there since becoming civilian leader, as Bangkok pursues closer ties with Myanmar despite criticism of the trip.

A Thai official told AFP on condition of anonymity that Min Aung Hlaing is set to receive an honour guard at Bangkok's Government House and meet Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul one-on-one. The official said the Myanmar leader will also attend a business forum and state dinner, with the two sides expected to sign a memorandum of understanding on labour cooperation.

Thailand's Foreign Minister Sihasak Phuangketkeow said on Monday that Thailand believed Myanmar and Cambodia could do more to combat scam networks, and that the issue would be raised during Min Aung Hlaing's visit.

Min Aung Hlaing led the 2021 military coup that ousted democratic leader Aung San Suu Kyi and triggered a civil war estimated to have killed more than 100,000 people on all sides. He became Myanmar's president in April after elections that democracy watchdogs and Western nations called a sham intended to improve the junta's image.

Thailand has been leading efforts to normalise relations with Myanmar, including through the Association of Southeast Asian Nations. ASEAN has excluded Myanmar's leadership from high-level summits since the coup, though Myanmar's foreign minister attended an informal meeting with regional counterparts in Thailand last month.

Suu Kyi, who remains under house arrest, was allowed to meet a representative of the International Committee of the Red Cross on Monday. AFP described it as her first publicised meeting with a foreign official since her ouster.

Sihasak welcomed that meeting and said he hoped Myanmar's authorities would take further steps towards peace and stability.

Critics have objected to the Thailand visit. Justice For Myanmar said Min Aung Hlaing should be held accountable rather than given what it called "false legitimacy". The Myanmar leader has been sanctioned by several Western nations and is wanted by the International Criminal Court for crimes against humanity.