Myanmar President Min Aung Hlaing made a two-day state visit to Thailand last week, in a trip that carried significance beyond routine diplomacy.
He remains internationally isolated because, in his earlier role as supreme commander of Myanmar’s armed forces, he led the 2021 coup that overthrew the elected civilian government.
He subsequently ruled as head of the junta for five years before formally assuming the presidency.That visit to Thailand coincided with another significant development in Myanmar.
Aung San Suu Kyi, the former leader whose government was ousted in that coup, was allowed to receive a visitor.
On August 3, Suu Kyi met Arnaud de Baecque, the International Committee of the Red Cross' (ICRC) resident representative in her country.Naypyidaw also released photographs of the meeting—the first official images of the former State Counsellor in years.Was the close timing of the two developments just a coincidence?
