CORRECTS - Myanmar junta leader attends major international event in China

CORRECTS HEADLINE AND LEDE; EDITS THROUGHOUT

By Riyaz ul Khaliq

ISTANBUL (AA) – Myanmar's junta leader Gen. Min Aung Hlaing Thursday participated in the 8th Greater Mekong Subregion Summit in Kunming, China.

The two-day summit that began on Wednesday, hosted by Chinese Premier Li Qiang, took place in Kunming, the capital of China’s southern Yunnan province.

Themed "Towards a Better Community through Innovation-Driven Development," the event brought together leaders from Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand, and Vietnam to discuss regional cooperation and development.

It marked the military leader's first official trip to China since leading the February 2021 coup. The country has since been in chaos as rebels and ethnic militias control large territories.

Asian Development Bank President Masatsugu Asakawa also participated in the summit.

On the sidelines of the gathering, the embattled junta chief who has made few international trips since 2021, held meetings, including with Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet.

Efforts led by the Association of South East Asian Nations, of which Myanmar is a member, which agreed on a five-point consensus to resolve the crisis, have yielded no results.