Aung San Suu Kyi to meet president, military chief on Wednesday

NOV 30, 20152:39 PM

[YANGON] Myanmar opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi will meet President Thein Sein and military chief Min Aung Hlaing on Wednesday, their first meeting since she won an historic election earlier this month, a senior government official told Reuters.

Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy (NLD) won the vote with a landslide and needs to forge a working relationship with the powerful military for her government to run smoothly.

Suu Kyi, a former political prisoner who is barred from becoming president under the military-drafted constitution, invited the military chief and the president to meet just days after the Nov. 8 election to discuss national reconciliation.

The NLD will be the dominant party when Myanmar's new parliament sits in February, while the armed forces will be the largest opposition group. The constitution guarantees unelected members of the military a quarter of seats in both houses.

Commander-in-Chief Min Aung Hlaing also has three powerful ministries guaranteed under the charter. This gives him a strong hold on Myanmar's sprawling bureaucracy.

Suu Kyi will meet the president at his official residence on Wednesday morning and the military chief in his office in the afternoon, Zaw Htay, a senior official from the President's Office, said on Monday.

The meetings will be closed to the media, he said.

Win Htein, a senior member of the NLD, also confirmed the meetings but declined to give any details about what would be discussed.

REUTERS