Former US ambassador Bill Richardson arrived in Naypyitaw on Monday for the start of a four-day mission that will include meetings with Myanmar’s regime leader and other senior junta officials, according to a copy of a leaked agenda prepared by Myanmar’s military regime seen by Myanmar Now.
Richardson will meet military chief Min Aung Hlaing on Tuesday following a meeting with the regime’s minister for foreign affairs, the documents show. This is expected to be followed by a meeting with the minister of health later the same day.
On Wednesday morning, he is scheduled to travel to Yangon to consult with the US ambassador to Myanmar before leaving the country on Thursday.
According to a report by AP that cited Richardson’s spokesperson, UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres was aware of the mission. The report said that the trip would focus on public health and the delivery of Covid-19 vaccines.
“In coordination with our contacts in Myanmar, we are visiting the country to discuss pathways for the humanitarian delivery of Covid-19 vaccines, medical supplies, and other public health needs,” Richardson said in a news release.
According to the AP report, Richardson will be joined by Cameron Hume, who previously served as US ambassador to Indonesia, South Africa, and Algeria, and two officials from the Richardson Center for Global Engagement.
Richardson last visited Myanmar in early 2018 to take part in an international panel set up by the country’s government to address the Rohingya crisis, but later resigned over what he called a “whitewash” of military atrocities.
He said at the time that he did not want to be part of “a cheerleading squad for the government” then led by now-deposed leader Aung San Suu Kyi, who he accused of lacking “moral leadership” in her handling of the crisis.
The military has not released any official statement about Richardson’s visit.
