Sept 1 (Reuters) – Myanmar’s junta chief-turned-president Min Aung Hlaing will make an official visit to Vietnam from September 4 to 6 at the invitation of Vietnamese President To Lam, state media in both countries reported on Tuesday.
• Vietnam will be the seventh country he has visited since assuming the presidency earlier this year, as he seeks greater legitimacy and regional re-engagement.
• Min Aung Hlaing will hold bilateral talks with To Lam and meet Vietnam’s prime minister and National Assembly president, state media outlet the Global New Light of Myanmar said.
• He will attend a Myanmar-Vietnam business forum, and meet representatives of economic organisations, Myanmar state media reported.
• The Vietnam trip follows a series of foreign visits by Min Aung Hlaing, including to Russia and Thailand in August, as he has sought to deepen overseas engagement to gain broader international legitimacy for his administration.
• Despite Myanmar’s push, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations has kept Myanmar’s political representatives out of its summits due to the failure to implement the regional body’s peace plan to end the country’s civil war which was sparked by the junta’s 2021 coup, permitting only non-political participation.
(Reporting by Reuters Staff; Editing by John Mair)
