President of the Republic of the Union of Myanmar U Min Aung Hlaing made an official visit to Malaysia at the invitation of Malaysian Prime Minister Dato’ Sri Anwar Ibrahim. The following is a summary of the explanations and responses given by Dr Khine Khine Soe, Deputy Minister and Spokesperson at the Office of the President.
Q: What were the notable achievements of President U Min Aung Hlaing’s visit to Malaysia, the first maritime ASEAN country he has visited after visiting four mainland ASEAN countries?
A: This was the President’s ninth foreign trip and his fifth visit to an ASEAN country. Malaysia was his first visit to a maritime ASEAN country. During the visit, he met with the Malaysian Prime Minister and attended a High-Level Business Forum and Business Dialogue. One notable event was the Business Cooperation Dialogue between think tanks from the two countries. The discussions focused mainly on cooperation between Myanmar and Malaysia. They also discussed bringing back Myanmar citizens who had been detained in Malaysia or were facing various difficulties there. According to official statistics, there are more than 160,000 Myanmar workers in Malaysia, although there may also be undocumented workers. We discussed job opportunities, legal residence and labour rights for Myanmar citizens in Malaysia. Cooperation in various sectors and ASEAN matters were also discussed.
Regarding the most satisfactory results of the visit, if I say overall outcomes… during the meeting with the Malaysian Prime Minister, Malaysia recognized the efforts of the President and the government of Myanmar and appreciated their efforts for economic development.
The Malaysian Prime Minister also appreciated Myanmar’s efforts to bring its citizens back home. He said that other countries had not brought back such a large number of their citizens, while Myanmar had made strong efforts to bring its citizens home. These were encouraging points for Myanmar.
The next point is regarding ASEAN. Myanmar is essential to be in ASEAN. Myanmar is an important country for Malaysia. We need to have positive engagement, cooperation and build friendship later. We also issued that point in the press. Those points are very wonderful. The last point is that Malaysia and Myanmar agreed to continue a close bilateral relationship. This is another positive result for Myanmar.
Q: What concerns did you have while visiting Malaysia?
A: Before the visit, we were not really worried. We had a curious feeling, as if we were more curious about what we would experience and what we would discuss.
However, from the moment we arrived in Malaysia, we received a very warm and friendly welcome. We were welcomed warmly and formally, not only by government officials but also by children and the people. Their welcome made us feel very comfortable
In other words, Myanmar and Malaysia have had friendly relations for a long time. However, over the past few years, our friendship and relations have become somewhat less warm. This visit helped make the relationship warmer again. It also helped rebuild trust and understanding between the two countries. Therefore, the visit can be described as a successful one diplomatically and politically. Our entire delegation returned home very pleased with the results.
Q: How does Malaysia view the current political developments in Myanmar? How can other ASEAN countries that have not yet invited the President come to understand the situation more accurately?
A: What we learnt through the discussion between the President and the Malaysian Prime Minister is that…during the visit, the President openly explained Myanmar’s efforts and discussed frankly. Malaysia learned about and recognized the President’s efforts to promote economic development. They recognized us, and that is one effort for economic development.
Another thing is the refugees who left our country. The President also clearly explained the issue of people who had left their homes in Myanmar, including the historical background and detailed facts and figures. As a result, the Malaysian Prime Minister and his government gained a better understanding of the issue. This can be considered a benefit for Myanmar.
The next one is that, as for ASEAN countries that have not yet invited the President, the Malaysian Prime Minister mentioned in the press release that Malaysia had engaged with Myanmar and that the President had visited ASEAN countries and maintained contact with them. He also shared information that Indonesia and Brunei were planning to invite the President.
The President had already explained Myanmar’s position and plans during visits to four mainland ASEAN countries. During this visit to a maritime ASEAN country, he again explained Myanmar’s position, plans and efforts. Therefore, the information shared during the Malaysia visit will also reach other ASEAN countries. We believe this will help countries that have not yet invited the President, or that may have a different view of Myanmar, to better understand the actual situation on the ground.
Q: A Business Forum was also held during the President’s visit to Malaysia. What agreements were reached between Myanmar and Malaysia at the forum?
A: Rather than simply a Business Forum, it was a High-Level Business Dialogue. The main focus was not simply on buying and selling. We discussed increasing cooperation, expanding trade and investment, and working together to produce value-added products. In other word, both sides agreed to establish a mechanism to meet each other’s needs and support each other’s businesses.
During discussions with Malaysian businesspeople, they showed interest in several areas, especially logistics and port-related businesses, and establishing downstream iron and steel industries.
Palm oil was another important area. Successful Malaysian businesspeople expressed interest in growing oil palms in Myanmar and building refineries, and they said they wanted to cooperate in these areas in the future.
The main purpose of the Business Forum was not simply to trade. We will not meet with the sellers, but we want to meet and directly discuss with actual producers what we could cooperate on. The discussions were aimed at long-term cooperation, and agreements were reached for this purpose.
Q: A Think Tank Cooperation Dialogue was also held during the visit. How can the discussions and ideas from the dialogue be turned into actual results?
A: One special feature of the Malaysia visit was the Cooperation Dialogue between Think Tanks from the two countries. The President himself attended the event, and the Malaysian Prime Minister also attended.
The main discussions focused on how the two countries could cooperate, especially in business, how each country could support the other’s position, and how each country could help meet the other’s needs.
These issues were discussed from an expert perspective (from the point of view of an expert). We also discussed what could be done at the government-to-government level, business-to-business level, people-to-people level and think-tank-to-think-tank level.
As a government, we will review and study the recommendations made by experts from both sides and continue to take the necessary steps to implement them. This is our governmental sector.
For the business sector, this was the beginning of a process. Further cooperation will continue, and more forums will be held step by step. This event was not something that ended with one discussion. It was the first step in a continuing process. Therefore, detailed discussions were held on how Myanmar and Malaysia can continue bilateral cooperation in the future.
Q: During the President’s visit, discussions were also held concerning Myanmar workers in Malaysia. What were the main issues discussed?
A: There were discussions about Myanmar workers in Malaysia, mainly in two areas.
First, we discussed Myanmar citizens who are currently working in Malaysia, whether they are legally or illegally staying there. The President asked the Malaysian side to help ensure that these workers receive their labour rights and social protection, have decent working conditions and are able to live and work legally.
The second issue was bringing back Myanmar citizens who are being held in detention centres after receiving sentences for various reasons. We have been working on this issue continuously.
By the end of August 2026, more than 8,000 Myanmar citizens had been brought back. Recently, as reported in the news, three Myanmar Tatmadaw naval ships brought back 1,476 people.
After screening the Myanmar citizens, there are still more than 3,000 people who remain to be brought back. The President discussed the need to bring them back as soon as possible while weather conditions remain favourable. This can be seen as the President’s care and concern for his citizens, much like the love and care of parents for their children.
News Team/KTZH
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