DHAKA: The United Nations has hailed peace talks between Myanmar’s government and armed ethnic minority groups as a ‘significant move’ towards ending decades of civil war in the former junta-ruled nation.

The meeting in the conflict-torn northern state of Kachin on November 4 to 5 was the first for decades between a combined group of ethnic representatives and government negotiators on home soil.

The parties agreed to work on building a framework for a nationwide ceasefire deal and to hold political dialogue, the government said in a statement.

UN leader Ban Ki-moon’s special adviser on Myanmar, Vijay Nambiar, hailed the meeting as ‘a significant move forward in the national reconciliation process’, in a statement released late on Tuesday, The Straits Times publishes this report on Wednesday.

BDST: 1318 HRS, NOV 06, 2013
RoR/BSK