The Ethnic Armed Organizations who have signed on to the Nationwide Ceasefire Agreement (NCA-S EAO) have been negotiating with the government in preparation for the  Union Peace Conference- 21st Century Panglong (Fourth session) scheduled for April 2020.

“The upcoming peace conference will be precise, and [we] will not be able to spend as much time as at the previous conferences. After discussing with the government, our ethnic armed groups will share topics to discuss at the conference with the public,” said Nai Aung Ma Ngae, a spokesperson for NCA-S EAO.

The parties have been reviewing a three-step agreement intended to  build a democratic federal union that will be signed at the peace conference.

Nai Aung Ma Ngae continued, saying “this conference is more like practicing top-down communications. Previously, the bottom-up approach was used where opinions from lower-level were discussed through the levels to the top. We cannot do it in this conference due to time limitations.”

The conference will focus on agreeing to a framework for the implementation of the Nationwide Ceasefire Agreement (NCA) that includes 51 previously agreed upon principles.

The event will also discuss a step-by-step plan, and identification of priorities post-2020 election, according to government representatives.

The last Union Peace Conference – 21st Century Panglong (Third Session) was held from July 11 to 16, 2018. Out of the five major sectors discussed at that conference, issues related to the political, economic, social and land sectors had been approved, but no agreement has yet been reached in the security sector.