In its biggest diplomatic visit in over one year, the National Unity Government (NUG) Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated that its Minister Zin Mar Aung met with Australia’s Foreign Minister Penny Wong at Parliament House in the capital Canberra, Australia, on Monday. The two discussed Myanmar’s crisis since the military coup on Feb. 1, 2021.
“The discussion was frank, friendly, and productive, covering political developments in Myanmar, humanitarian needs, transnational organised crimes, and regional peace and stability,” stated Zin Mar Aung on her official social media account on Thursday.
The NUG Ministry of Foreign Affairs added that Minister Zin Mar Aung outlined the roadmap toward an inclusive federal democratic union in Myanmar, highlighting the importance of rejecting the regime’s 2025-26 elections set to begin on Dec. 28 and continue into January 2026.
Zin Mar Aung and Penny Wong had previously met on June 4, 2024, to discuss ways to provide humanitarian assistance and support for conflict-affected communities in Myanmar. Wong paid an official visit to the 16th Australia-India Foreign Ministers’ Framework Dialogue in New Delhi, India, on Nov. 20.
Zin Mar Aung attended the 151th general assembly of the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU), an international organization of parliaments of sovereign states, in Geneva, Switzerland, Oct. 19-23.
She told the IPU that regime elections will only “worsen the ongoing humanitarian crisis” in Myanmar.
Australia, along with the U.S., the U.K., the E.U., Canada and Japan have called on the regime, which seized power in Naypyidaw during the 2021 coup, to unconditionally release State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi and President Win Myint, who’ve been held incommunicado since Feb. 1, 2021.
Tayzar San, a pro-democracy leader and physician from Mandalay, called on the NUG to reform and restructure its local governance system operating in over 180 townships nationwide.
The “Three pas,” which include the People’s Administration Team (PAT), People’s Security Team (PST), and People’s Defense Team (PDT), have been the NUG representatives on-the-ground in communities across Myanmar.
Tayzar San highlighted that they must “uphold ethical standards.” Nay Phone Latt, the NUG spokesperson responded to the criticism, saying that it would make meaningful reform.
The NUG is a group of elected lawmakers ousted in the 2021 coup established in April 2021. It has called on all Myanmar citizens to boycott any elections held under the regime.
