Burmese Prime Minister Lieutenant General Soe Win will be in Cambodia on Thursday and Friday this week as part of a three-country visit intended to introduce the controversial junta leader to his counterparts in the region, officials said Monday.
“The purpose is to strengthen and develop relations between the two countries,” Foreign Affairs Ministry spokesman Hem Heng said. “We have no specific issues to address.”
The visit comes on the heel of rare controversy among Asean members over comments made by a minister in the Malaysian prime minister’s cabinet, Nazri Abdul Aziz, who said he opposed Burma’s assumption of Asean’s rotating chair because of its poor record on democratic reforms.
As other Asean members aligned with the Malaysian stance, Prime Minister Hun Sen said last week that he supported Burma’s chairmanship of Asean and that blocking the junta’s leadership of the regional grouping, could also leave other members, such as Thailand and Indonesia, open to Asean sanction.
According to a press release issued by the Foreign Affairs Ministry, Soe Win, who was invited by Hun Sen, will meet with King Norodom Sihamoni, Senate President Chea Sim and National Assembly President Prince Norodom Ranariddh.
But Hem Heng said no schedule has yet been confirmed and it is unclear whether Soe Win will be able to meet with Chea Sim because the Senate president has been ill.
Soe Win’s visit also includes stops in Laos and Vietnam
Asian diplomats speaking on condition of anonymity Monday downplayed the importance of Soe Win’s visit.
“This visit is really an introductory visit,” said one diplomat.
Soe Win took office on Oct 19. This will be his first trip to Cambodia as prime minister of Burma.
