Myanmar President Min Aung Hlaing arrived in Bangkok on Thursday for a two-day state visit, his first trip to Thailand since taking on the country’s civilian presidency, as Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul’s government works to draw Myanmar back into regional diplomacy following five years of isolation after the 2021 military coup.
Min Aung Hlaing was welcomed at Government House with a formal honor guard ceremony alongside Anutin, according to several news sources. The two leaders then held bilateral talks covering political reconciliation, regional cooperation and economic ties. Officials from both governments signed a series of memorandums of understanding during the visit, addressing the treatment of Myanmar migrant workers in Thailand, joint management of water quality in rivers the two countries share, and cooperation on space technology for earth observation.
Following the meetings, Anutin and Min Aung Hlaing were scheduled to speak at a Thailand-Myanmar Business Forum aimed at strengthening trade and investment ties between the neighbors, according to several news sources.
The visit carries direct stakes for Thailand. Myanmar nationals make up the largest single group among Thailand’s foreign workforce, numbering in the millions, according to International Organization for Migration data, with heavy concentrations in construction, agriculture, fishing and manufacturing. The two countries also share a long border and river systems that both rely on for water management. Years of conflict inside Myanmar have pushed refugees and displaced workers across that border, a pressure point Thai officials have had to manage even while pursuing closer economic ties with Naypyitaw.
Min Aung Hlaing seized power in a February 2021 coup that ousted the elected government led by Nobel Peace Prize laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, who remains under house arrest. The takeover triggered a civil war between the military and a mix of pro-democracy groups and ethnic armed organizations that continues today. Conflict monitor ACLED has estimated that more than 100,000 people have been killed on all sides since the coup, making it one of the deadliest active conflicts in Asia.
Min Aung Hlaing was barred from top-level ASEAN summits after failing to comply with a regional peace plan the bloc agreed to in April 2021. Thursday’s trip marks his fourth visit to a neighboring country since assuming the presidency this year, following earlier stops in China, India and Laos, as he works to rebuild standing within the region.
Thailand has described its approach as a calibrated effort to maintain communication with Myanmar while encouraging progress on the stalled ASEAN peace initiative, a condition regional partners have tied to restoring closer ties with the bloc, according to several news sources. Some Myanmar nationals living in Thailand protested Min Aung Hlaing’s visit outside official venues in Bangkok.
Analysts have cautioned that Thailand faces a difficult balance between engaging Myanmar’s government and appearing to grant it legitimacy while the conflict continues without a clear resolution. Myanmar’s military has intensified aerial bombing and other attacks on civilians in recent months, according to conflict monitors, even as its leadership pursues renewed diplomatic ties abroad.
The Bangkok visit follows a smaller sign of openness inside Myanmar earlier in the week. Suu Kyi met with a representative of the International Committee of the Red Cross on Monday, her first known meeting with a foreign official since her removal from power, according to several news sources.
Whether the Bangkok visit leads to Myanmar’s readmission to full ASEAN summits remains unclear. For now, Thai officials appear focused on securing narrower agreements on labor, water management and trade that directly affect the two countries’ shared border, while leaving the broader question of regional recognition for ASEAN as a bloc to decide.
