Myanmar leader visits Thailand in bid to bolster international legitimacy

Min Aung Hlaing stressed that his government was focused on ending the civil war and restoring peace.The head of Myanmar’s military-backed government has met Thailand’s prime minister in Bangkok as he seeks to boost his government’s legitimacy more than five years after seizing power.President Min Aung Hlaing arrived in Thailand’s capital on Thursday, on his first official visit to the country since taking power in a coup in 2021.Recommended Stories list of 3 itemslist 1 of 3Myanmar releases first images of Aung San Suu Kyi since 2021 military couplist 2 of 3Detained Myanmar leader Suu Kyi has first foreign visitor in five yearslist 3 of 3Malaysia vows not to return Myanmar refugees if lives at riskend of listMyanmar remains in the midst of a bloody civil war triggered by the coup, which has killed more than 100,000 people, according to monitoring group Armed Conflict Location & Event Data (ACLED).During a meeting with Thai Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul, Min Aung Hlaing stressed that Myanmar’s military-backed government was focused on ending the civil war and restoring peace to the resource-rich country.“Myanmar has now reestablished itself on the path to democracy and is moving toward a better future,” Min Aung Hlaing said. “As the new government, we have now begun working on national stability, peace, and national reconciliation.”Min Aung Hlaing is pushing for Myanmar to be readmitted to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), from which his government was barred after failing to implement a peace plan agreed with member states in 2021.Thailand is one of Myanmar’s top foreign investors and has called for a “calibrated re-engagement approach” with its neighbour, with which it shares a 2,400km (1500-mile) border.Following the meeting, the two leaders delivered speeches at the Thailand-Myanmar Business Forum.Anutin said Thailand and Myanmar are ready to “step into the new chapter of economic cooperation that is built upon mutual trust and benefit for the people of the two countries”.