Myanmar Peace Centre (MPC) said it discussed the issue of federalism with the ethnic armed group alliance Nationwide Ceasefire Coordination Team (NCCT) when they met in Chiang Mai this week.

The two delegations sat together in the northern Thai city ahead of a scheduled round of talks on Friday and Saturday in Rangoon aimed at finalising the third draft of the nationwide ceasefire agreement.

“We discussed the latest draft of the ceasefire agreement and the NCCT proposed some talking points, including the matter of federalism,” said the MPC’s Nyo Ohn Myint.

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He said the Burmese government’s chief negotiator and head of the MPC, Aung Min, passed on a message to NCCT leaders pledging to address the concerns of the ethnic armed groups at the upcoming ceasefire talks.

“The minister pledged to work to the best of his ability to address the concerns of the ethnic nationalities,” said Nyo Ohn Myint.

The government and ethnic armed groups have agreed to facilitate political dialogue within 90 days of the signing of a nationwide ceasefire agreement.

Minister Aung Min, at a meeting with representatives of Burmese political parties on Monday, urged politicians to take part responsibly in the political dialogue process.