Myanmar’s military-backed President Min Aung Hlaing arrived in Vietnam on Friday for high-level talks, as he seeks to rebuild ties with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and attract much-needed foreign investment.
State-run MRTV television reported that Min Aung Hlaing left the capital, Naypyitaw, on a flight on Friday morning, reports AP.
During his visit to Hanoi, he is expected to meet Vietnamese President To Lam and other senior officials. He is also scheduled to attend a business forum with members of his Cabinet.
The visit marks Min Aung Hlaing’s third trip to an ASEAN member state as he attempts to restore Myanmar’s standing in the 11-member regional bloc, which includes both Myanmar and Vietnam.
Diplomatic isolation and re-engagement
Myanmar has endured years of severe diplomatic isolation since the military takeover in February 2021, when Min Aung Hlaing, then army chief, ousted the government of Aung San Suu Kyi.
Western governments subsequently shunned and sanctioned the military leader and his associates over the overthrow. The takeover was followed by serious rights violations and a deadly military crackdown on protests, which later fuelled a nationwide armed resistance movement and a bloody civil war.
Min Aung Hlaing was also barred from top-level ASEAN meetings after failing to implement a five-point peace plan agreed by the bloc in April 2021.
Since being sworn in as president in April following an election that critics say was intended to consolidate the military’s grip on power, however, Min Aung Hlaing has stepped up his diplomatic engagements.
Since taking office, he has visited India, China, Laos and Thailand, before travelling most recently to Kazakhstan, Belarus and Russia. During those visits, he held talks with leaders and sought to attract foreign investment through business forums.
Weakening economic ties, longstanding military links
Vietnam has maintained longstanding military ties with Myanmar, although economic relations between the two countries have weakened in recent years.
Bilateral trade declined from $853 million in 2020 to $590 million in 2025, reaching $335 million in the first half of 2026, according to figures Min Aung Hlaing shared with Vietnamese Foreign Minister Le Hoai Trung during their meeting in Myanmar in late August.
Vietnam’s Foreign Ministry provided the figures.
Despite the decline in trade, military ties and defence cooperation between the two countries have continued. These include the involvement of Viettel, Vietnam’s military-run telecommunications group, in Mytel, one of Myanmar’s major telecommunications operators with military-linked ownership.
