Myanmar leader to meet Thai prime minister in Bangkok, Thai minister says

Myanmar leader Min Aung Hlaing will meet Thai Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul in Bangkok on August 6 and 7, Thailand's foreign minister said.

Sihasak Phuangketkeow confirmed the planned meeting after what he described as a frank and candid discussion with Southeast Asian foreign ministers in Manila on how to pursue Myanmar's return to regional diplomacy.

Myanmar remains a member of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, but it has been formally excluded from the bloc's major meetings since the junta's 2021 coup toppled Aung San Suu Kyi's democratically elected government.

Thailand shares a long border with Myanmar and hosts millions of refugees from the country, which is affected by civil war. Thailand has been leading a push for Myanmar's reintegration, a position that has exposed divisions among ASEAN members.

Sihasak said Min Aung Hlaing's visit was part of a dual-track approach. He said Thailand had pressing bilateral issues to address, including transnational crime, scams and drugs. He said the approach did not mean abandoning ASEAN's long-standing five-point peace plan.

Sihasak also said he had asked ASEAN counterparts to consider how they would measure progress after a recent meeting in Bangkok with Myanmar Foreign Minister Tin Maung Swe. He suggested possible measures could include access for the ASEAN special envoy to Suu Kyi, or a reduction in violence along the Thai-Myanmar border.

He said ASEAN had to be realistic, and that progress would not happen overnight but could come incrementally. He added that he hoped heavily restricted elections that installed Min Aung Hlaing as president would open the door to new talks with Myanmar's armed ethnic groups and democratic opposition. He said Thailand might help facilitate dialogue with ethnic groups along the Thai side of the border.

Earlier in the day, Philippine Foreign Minister Theresa Lazaro said ASEAN was considering appointing a long-term, permanent envoy to Myanmar. She said the current yearly rotation system had not really been effective.