Bangkok – Myanmar’s junta chief turned President Min Aung Hlaing received a red-carpet treatment on an official visit to Thailand on Thursday, part of efforts by Bangkok to push for reengagement between its war-torn neighbor and the regional bloc ASEAN.

The retired general, who first came to power in a 2021 coup, is the subject of a raft of Western sanctions and has sought international legitimacy since becoming Myanmar’s president in April, which followed an election dominated by an army-backed party in the absence of any viable opposition.

At an arrival ceremony in Bangkok, a military band played national anthems of both countries before Min Aung Hlaing, dressed in a dark business suit, walked a red carpet with Thai Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul to inspect an honor guard. With a civil war raging in Myanmar following the 2021 coup, Thailand is pursuing “calibrated reengagement” in the hope that its neighbor will implement a stalled peace plan led by the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), which has barred Myanmar’s leaders from its summits.