Asean members warm towards Myanmar, raising hopes it could come in from the cold
Myanmar has been largely sidelined from top-level Asean meetings since a 2021 military coup that sparked a nationwide civil conflict
In an interview during the Association of Southeast Asian Nations summit in the Philippines on Thursday, Kao Kim Hourn said Myanmar had indicated it wanted to normalise ties with the 11-member grouping, but its neighbours wanted to see progress on de-escalation, dialogue and aid access.
“It’s very clear that today the Asean foreign ministers agree that there will be an engagement with Myanmar, with the foreign minister of Myanmar, that they will have a virtual meeting coming up in the very near future,” he said.
He said the possibility of creating a special envoy for Myanmar with a remit beyond one year was part of an ongoing discussion, with some “adverse issues” that needed to be addressed. He did not elaborate.