Thai army chief visits Myanmar

BANGKOK, December 17 (TNA) - Thai Army Chief General Udomdej Sitabutr, who is also Deputy Defence Minister, is paying a two-day official visit to Myanmar from December 17-18, at the invitation of the Myanmar Army, aimed to strengthen military relations and to discuss cooperation on border issues between the two neighboring countries. Accompanied by his entourage, including military authorities concerned and his wife, Wipada Sitabutr, in her capacity as President of the Thai Army Wives Association, General Udomdej left Bangkok for Myanmar on Wednesday morning. Prior to his departure, General Udomdej told journalists that his Myanmar counterpart Senior General Soe Win, who is also Myanmar Deputy Commander-in-Chief of Defence Services, earlier invited him to visit the neighboring country, where he is also scheduled to meet Myanmar Commander-in-Chief of Defence Services Senior General Min Aung Hlaing. According to the Thai army chief, issues to be raised during his stay in Myanmar include anti-drugs cooperation along border areas, as emphasized by Thai Prime Minister General Prayut Chan-ocha, who is also Chief of the Army-led National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO), and Deputy Prime Minister and Defence Minister General Prawit Wongsuwon, as well as the development of Thai and Myanmar villages along the common border to improve living conditions of locals as a way to address cross-border illicit businesses and a reforestation project along the Thai-Myanmar border, also initiated by the Thai prime minister, when he was Thai army chief, his predecessor. (TNA)