The ongoing conflict in Myanmar will be high on the agenda at a series of ASEAN foreign ministerial meetings beginning Thursday in Laos. A senior diplomat from Myanmar is set to join the discussions, as the country has been facing a sluggish economy since the 2021 military coup.
The Permanent Secretary of Myanmar’s foreign ministry Aung Kyaw Moe is in Vientiane. He held talks with the Secretary-General of ASEAN on Wednesday.
Sources say Aung Kyaw Moe is likely to attend the ASEAN Regional Forum on Saturday, where US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and senior officials from other regional powers will participate.
After Myanmar’s military takeover three years ago, ASEAN members and the junta reached a peace plan, known as the Five Point Consensus. It calls for an immediate end to violence in the country, but Myanmar has made little progress in implementing the deal.
Myanmar had been boycotting major ASEAN events after other members decided only a non-political representative from the country could attend. But it started dispatching a senior official from this year.
The junta has been struggling with an economic slump due to Western sanctions and the depreciation of its currency, while fierce fighting with pro-democracy forces and ethnic rebels continues.
Observers say the junta is likely seeking a way to ease the situation through dialogue with the international community.