PHNOM PENH: The Cambodian Foreign Minister and ASEAN Special Envoy, Prak Sokhonn, is scheduled to pay his first official visit to Myanmar in mid-March, to meet with the different stakeholders involved in the country's ongoing conflict.

Speaking at a press conference after the ASEAN Foreign Ministers' Meeting on Thursday afternoon, Deputy Prime Minister Prak Sokhonn said that during his visit to Myanmar next month, he will meet with members of the Myanmar military government as well as members of the opposition. He added that during his visit, he will also be distributing ASEAN humanitarian donations to a hospital in Myanmar.

He said, "When the ASEAN Secretariat is ready, we will consult with the Naypyidaw government to discuss the arrangement, because we cannot just go like that, Myanmar is a sovereign state."

Cambodia assumed the rotating chairmanship of ASEAN on 1 January 2022, after Brunei. This is the third time that Cambodia has chaired ASEAN (the previous two times were in 2002 and 2012).

On 7-8 January, Prime Minister Hun Sen paid an official visit to Myanmar to help find a solution and bring Myanmar back into ASEAN. In a meeting with Prime Minister Hun Sen, military leader Min Aung Hlaing promised that the Myanmar military government would extend its ceasefire until the end of 2022, facilitate the process of receiving ASEAN aid and facilitate the ASEAN Special Envoy's visit and meeting with all parties involved in the conflict in the country, including ethnic armed groups.