Malaysian Prime Minister and ASEAN chair Anwar Ibrahim said Monday he will meet Myanmar’s isolated junta chief in Bangkok this week as the strongman makes a rare trip abroad to discuss earthquake relief.
The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) has barred junta officials from summits after their 2021 coup deposed civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi and plunged Myanmar into a fractious civil war.
But Anwar—who holds the rotating chairmanship of ASEAN—said he would meet Min Aung Hlaing on Thursday to discuss the safety of Malaysian aid workers dispatched to help after last month’s earthquake.
More than 3,600 people were killed in the March 28 disaster which destroyed more than 5,000 buildings, according to official figures, and left more than two million in need, said the UN.
Myanmar’s junta announced a ceasefire following the magnitude-7.7 quake. While monitors say fighting. . .
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