Vietnamese Foreign Minister Lê Hoài Trung will pay an official visit to Myanmar on Wednesday, marking the first high-level diplomatic trip from Vietnam to the country since the 2021 military coup.
According to statements from Vietnam’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Lê Hoài Trung accepted the invitation of Myanmar regime Foreign Minister Tin Maung Swe and will co-chair the 10th meeting of the Vietnam–Myanmar Joint Commission for Bilateral Cooperation in Naypyidaw, Vietnamese state media reported.
Key diplomatic context and bilateral relations
The visit follows recent diplomatic exchanges between Hanoi and Naypyidaw, including the mutual exchange of new ambassadors last month.
- Joint Commission Agenda: The co-chaired 10th session of the Joint Commission for Bilateral Cooperation will review economic cooperation, trade ties, and sub-regional security initiatives.
- ASEAN Framework Alignment: Vietnam maintains that Myanmar remains an integral member of the regional bloc, reiterating that ASEAN’s Five-Point Consensus peace plan serves as the primary guiding framework for engagement
- Direct Dialogue Strategy: During ASEAN ministerial meetings held in July under the Philippine chair, Lê Hoài Trung advocated for direct, practical dialogue with Myanmar authorities to support economic recovery and combat cross-border cybercrime and drug trafficking.
Regional shift toward wngagement
While Myanmar’s regime has faced diplomatic isolation within the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) since 2021, select neighbouring member states have expanded bilateral outreach.
The visit aligns with broader efforts by countries such as Thailand and Laos to widen direct communication channels with the regime in Naypyidaw, while balancing ASEAN’s official position via its Five Point Consensus, which was agreed by all 10 member states in April 2021 but never implemented by Min Aung Hlaing upon his return to Myanmar.
Senior regime officials, including Min Aung Hlaing, have been barred from attending high-level ASEAN summits and meetings since October 2021, but recent regional engagement between regime and ASEAN foreign ministers occurred in Bangkok, Thailand, on July 12.
