Senior General Than Shwe (L) receives Thailand’s military chief Supreme Commander General Ruengroj Mahasaranond in Nay Pyi Taw on August 7. Pic:AFP

THE Supreme Commander of the Royal Thai Armed Forces General Ruengroj Mahasaranond travelled to Myanmar on a three-day goodwill visit last week that included a meeting with the Chairman of the State Peace and Development Council Senior General Than Shwe.

The meeting took place in Nay Pyi Taw on August 7, on the first day of General Ruengroj’s visit.

General Ruengroj, who was accompanied by a delegation of 30 senior Thai military officers, was welcomed at the Nay Pyi Taw airport by his Myanmar host, Vice Chairman of the SPDC Vice Senior General Maung Aye, with whom the Thai commander met later in the day.

Vice Senior General Maung Aye hosted a dinner for General Ruengroj that evening.

Before leaving for Myanmar, General Ruengroj told reporters in Bangkok on August 7 that discussions in Myanmar would touch on promoting bilateral cooperation as well as on the fight against human and drug trafficking, across 1800-kilometre (1100-mile) shared border between the two countries.

The itinerary of General Ruengroj’s visit also included a trip to Yangon on August 8, where he visited Shwedagon Pagoda, before returning to Bangkok the following day.