Aung Myat Thu — The Peace Process Steering Team (PPST) leader Gen. Yawd Serk said that they would try to hold the fourth meeting of 21st Century Panglong Peace Conference in the middle of this year.

He was giving his closing address at the PPST meeting in Naypyitaw yesterday.

“We must try to hold the fourth meeting of 21st Century Panlong Peace Conference in the middle of this year by working stage by stage between the two sides,” Gen. Yawd Serk said.

This meeting explored all means for all-inclusiveness in this peace process by coordinating with government, and the ten signatories of the Nationwide Ceasefire Agreement (NCA).

PPST spokesman Col. Sai Ngin said, “Our peace process has not advanced over one year in its official work so the main issue is how to overcome these hurdles and bottlenecks. We have a common position in principle to hold this fourth 21st Century Panglong Peace Conference this year. So our side has a common position to advance one more step in leading to this meeting.”

It is learned that the subjects and issues to be tabled at the 8th Joint Implementation Coordination Meeting (JICM) of NCA which will be held today, January 8, have been agreed, but the PPST declined to give further details on the agreement reached at the PPST meeting.

In the JICM meeting, government, Tatmadaw (Defence Services) and ten ethnic armed organizations (EAOs) which signed NCA will attend. State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi and Tatmadaw Vice C-in-C, Vice Senior Gen. Soe Win, will reportedly attend the meeting.