ASEAN envoy confirms mission to Myanmar later this month

Phnom Penh [Cambodia], March 5 (ANI): Cambodian Foreign Minister Prak Sokhonn is set to travel to Myanmar later this month for a four-day visit for talks with top representatives of the country’s military government.
Sokhonn became the ASEAN special envoy after Cambodia assumed this year’s chair for the regional grouping.
This will be his first official trip as a special envoy for the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), which is scheduled to take place from March 20-23.
Sokhonn is set to inch forward the implementation of ASEAN’s Five-Point Consensus peace plan, which reached a special summit last April, The Diplomat magazine reported.
This visit comes as the Southeast Asian bloc is seeking to implement a five-point consensus on Myanmar it reached last year stressing dialogue, humanitarian assistance and an end to violence.
Analysts believe that this visit could lead to some progress on the humanitarian front but a genuine cessation of violence and political negotiations – seems unlikely.
Earlier, Sokhonn said that he was seeking permission to meet with representatives of the National Unity Government (NUG), which was set up last year by members of the National League for Democracy (NLD) administration that the military overthrew last February.
Media reports said Myanmar’s military has recently given permission for ASEAN’s envoy to meet with members of the NLD party. (ANI)