BANGKOK: Thailand said on Monday (Dec 16) it will host two regional meetings on Myanmar this week, with at least one to have representatives of the junta, as the Malaysian Prime Minister said efforts were being made to bring Myanmar back to the fore of ASEAN.
Thai Foreign Minister Maris Sangiampongsa will hold the separate consultations on Dec 19 and 20, after Thailand in October offered to host informal talks to find a way out of the crisis that has gripped Myanmar since a 2021 military coup.
Representatives from Myanmar will take part in Thursday’s meeting, which Thai foreign ministry spokesman Nikorndej Balankura said would be an informal consultation on border security and transnational crime.
Representatives from China, India, Bangladesh, Laos and Thailand, which all share borders with Myanmar, will also attend.
On Friday, there will be a foreign minister-level meeting on Myanmar for “interested members” of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), including discussing ASEAN’s “Five Point Consensus” plan for peace in the country, Nikorndej said.
It is not clear if Myanmar will have any representatives at Friday’s meeting, and if so, at what level.
