DHAKA: Myanmar’s president Thein Sein will host rare talks Wednesday with influential allies and rivals including opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi as she intensifies efforts to lift a constitutional ban on her bid for the presidency.

The long-awaited talks in the capital Naypyidaw, which follow a similar meeting of key political figures in October, come as the country braces for elections seen as a key test of recent reforms in the former junta-run nation.

The president’s office director Zaw Htay said the discussions would likely include maintaining order around the elections, slated for November, as well as details of a landmark draft ceasefire agreement with multiple ethnic armed groups last week.

‘There could be disagreement, it’s impossible to be of one mind. But the more meetings there are, the more the talks can find common ground to benefit the people,’ he told the media, adding that army chief Min Aung Hlaing was expected to attend the meeting, reports The Straits Times.

BDST: 1522 HRS, APR 08, 2015
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