Myanmar junta chief wants bilateral meeting with Yunus at BIMSTEC summit
Myanmar’s junta chief Min Aung Hlaing wants to hold a bilateral meeting with Bangladesh’s Chief Adviser Professor Muhammed Yunus on the sidelines of a regional leaders’ summit in Thailand next week.
Reuters says Min Aung Hlaing will join the April 3-4 summit in Bangkok of the BIMSTEC grouping of mostly South Asian countries. BIMSTEC, or the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation, includes Thailand, Myanmar, India, Bangladesh, Nepal, Sri Lanka, and Bhutan.
Three sources with direct knowledge told Reuters that the Myanmar delegation is seeking bilateral meetings with leaders and top officials, including Professor Muhammed Yunus and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
“They have been reaching out asking for meetings,” one of the sources said, referring to Myanmar officials.
An Indian government source said Myanmar officials had made “overtures” to New Delhi seeking a bilateral meeting between the junta chief and Modi, but added that India had not taken a decision so far.
India’s foreign ministry did not respond to a request for comment. A spokesperson for Myanmar’s military government could not immediately be reached for comment.
Asked by Reuters if the Myanmar general was attending, Thailand’s foreign ministry said all leaders of BIMSTEC member countries have confirmed their attendance.
Min Aung Hlaing is the subject of widespread western sanctions and is barred from attending summits of the Southeast Asian bloc ASEAN due to the Myanmar military’s failure to implement an agreed peace plan with the bloc.
