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Bangkok Post
Bangkok Post
National

Myanmar's Min Aung Hlaing to visit Thailand next month

Myanmar's army chief General Min Aung Hlaing inspects troops during a parade to mark the 67th anniversary of Armed Forces Day in Myanmar's capital Naypyitaw on March 27, 2012. (File photo: Reuters)

Myanmar ⁠junta ⁠chief turned ​president Min Aung Hlaing will make ​an official ‌visit to Thailand on Aug 6 and 7, Thai Foreign Affairs Minister Sihasak Phuangketkeow said on Wednesday, marking the latest ​attempt ⁠by the war-torn country's new administration to gain international legitimacy.

The planned trip ‌comes after Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) foreign ministers met with their Myanmar counterpart and separately with ⁠opposition groups in Thailand last week.

During the visit, Min Aung Hlaing is scheduled to meet with Thailand's Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul.

"Definitely, ​I have expectations, but I have to be realistic. Let's ​keep ‌moving forward," Mr Sihasak told Agence France-Presse (AFP) regarding ​the ⁠situation in Myanmar.

Thailand’s Foreign Affairs Minister Sihasak Phuangketkeow speaks to reporters at Government House, Bangkok. (Photo: Pattarapong Chatpattarasill)

Myanmar has been in political turmoil since ⁠a military coup led by Min Aung Hlaing five years ago, which ousted a democratically ⁠elected government.

Min Aung Hlaing ​was appointed president by parliament in April following military-engineered elections that human rights groups and ‌Western governments ⁠dismissed as a "sham".

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