Thu Sep 19 06:35:30 UTC 2024: ## Thailand to Lead Regional Effort to Repair Key Highway in Myanmar

**Bangkok, Thailand** – Thailand is stepping up its efforts to stabilize border areas and keep trade routes open in conflict-ridden Myanmar by working with both sides of the conflict to repair a critical highway.

Foreign Minister Maris Sangiampongsa announced on Thursday that Thailand, with the support of ASEAN and India, will lead the initiative to rebuild damaged sections of the Asian Highway 1 (AH-1), a key trade route stretching over 1,500 kilometers through Myanmar.

The highway has been severely impacted by recent fighting between the military junta and armed rebel groups, particularly around Myawaddy, a town on the Thai-Myanmar border which once facilitated over $1 billion in annual border trade.

“I don’t think Myanmar’s problems can be addressed militarily, but through constructive dialogue,” said Sangiampongsa.

Laos, the current chair of ASEAN, has requested Thailand to host a regional meeting on Myanmar before the end of the year, focusing on peace and stability. This meeting is expected to build on the existing ASEAN peace plan which the junta has largely ignored.

Myanmar has been in turmoil since the military coup in February 2021, which sparked widespread protests and an armed rebellion against the junta. The junta has lost control of vast swathes of the country, leading to a crippled economy and deepening humanitarian crisis.

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