Myanmar Junta Chief in Vietnam to Rebuild ASEAN Ties and Woo Investors

Myanmar's military-backed leader, Min Aung Hlaing, arrived in Vietnam on Friday for an official visit aimed at mending ties with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and drawing foreign capital. The trip is part of a broader diplomatic push since he assumed the presidency in April, following an election widely criticized as a move to entrench military rule.

State-run media confirmed his departure from Naypyitaw on Friday morning. In Hanoi, he is scheduled to meet President To Lam and other senior officials, and will also attend a business forum with members of his cabinet.

This is Min Aung Hlaing's third visit to an ASEAN member state since taking office. He has already traveled to India, China, Laos, Thailand, and more recently to Kazakhstan, Belarus, and Russia, where he sought investment through business forums.

Vietnam and Myanmar share longstanding military ties, including defense cooperation and the involvement of Viettel, Vietnam's military-run telecom group, in Mytel, a major Myanmar operator with military-linked ownership. However, economic relations have cooled. Bilateral trade fell from $853 million in 2020 to $590 million in 2025, and stood at just $335 million in the first half of 2026, figures Min Aung Hlaing shared with Vietnam's Foreign Minister Le Hoai Trung during their meeting in Myanmar in late August.

The visit underscores Min Aung Hlaing's efforts to reengage regionally after years of isolation following the February 2021 coup that ousted Aung San Suu Kyi's government. He was barred from top-level ASEAN meetings for failing to honor a peace plan agreed in April 2021. Western nations have imposed sanctions over the coup and subsequent crackdowns, which triggered widespread armed resistance and a deepening civil conflict.