The ASEAN special envoy on Myanmar Prak Sokhonn will pay another visit to the strife-torn country next month in a renewed attempt to seek a peaceful end to its ongoing conflict.
Prak Sokhonn, who is Cambodia’s foreign minister, stressed the need to engage Myanmar in order to implement the so-called “five-point consensus” adopted at the ASEAN summit in April last year.
The special envoy was briefing the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) on his upcoming visit to Myanmar which is expected to take in early June.
“Looking forward to my second visit to Myanmar next month, I have five key things on mind: cessation of violence, constructive engagement, Covid-19 vaccination, humanitarian reliefs, and last but not least optimism,” he was quoted by the Khmer Times as saying.
“Having said that, not all hope is lost as long as we, both ASEAN and the international community, continue to engage constructively with Myanmar as opposed to isolating them,” he added.
According to the press release of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the briefing was done at the invitation of President of the UNSC, Linda Thomas-Greenfield.
The Khmer Times reported that during the virtual meeting, Sokhonn shared updates on what Cambodia has done so far, including the outcome of his first visit to Myanmar from March 21-23, and the result of the Consultative Meeting on ASEAN Humanitarian Assistance to Myanmar on May 6.
Sokhonn said he hopes to meet as many relevant stakeholders as possible in addition to those he met during the first visit.
The Khmer Times reported that during his virtual talk with Myanmar junta leader Min Aung Hlaing early this month, Prime Minister Hun Sen requested Myanmar to allow Sokhonn access to all parties there, including Aung San Suu Kyi and former president Win Myint.
