Malaysia Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim hosted Myanmar President Min Aung Hlaing for talks Thursday, though his government was careful to underscore it still doesn’t recognize the regime.
The two leaders met in Putrajaya to discuss further repatriations of the more than 200,000 Myanmar refugees currently in Malaysia. Anwar warmly welcomed his counterpart, who led a coup in 2021 and this year became president after an election that most international observers derided as a sham.
“We, on our part in Malaysia, will do whatever is possible to make sure that we enhance this collaboration and ultimately take Myanmar as part of our community of nations,” Anwar said in a briefing after their talks.
The meeting “does not mean we recognise the Myanmar government,” Communications Minister Fahmi Fadzil said, according to a report by national news agency Bernama. “It is intended to find a solution to the longstanding issue of Myanmar refugees in our country.”
Min Aung Hlaing is the first Myanmar leader to visit Malaysia since President Thein Sein’s state visit in March 2015, underscoring the extent of the country’s diplomatic isolation. The past few months have seen signs that neighboring countries are open to easing Myanmar’s isolation five years after the overthrow of Aung San Suu Kyi, despite an ongoing civil war that has killed tens of thousands of people.
Read More: Myanmar’s Neighbors Seek to Ease Its Isolation Despite Conflict
Anwar expressed appreciation that Myanmar has this year taken back more than 10,000 of its refugees in the country, and Min Aung Hlaing pledged to take more.
“We also discussed the issues of Myanmar nationals held in Malaysia’s immigration detention centers, and the repatriation of those confirmed as Myanmar citizens,” the former general said. “We will expedite the process to bring them back, and we are sending one naval ship to Malaysia for their repatriation.”