The fourth round of Union Peace Conference-21st Century Panglong Conference will be held in coming December or in the early 2019, said Zaw Htay, Spokesperson of the President’s Office, at a press conference at the Presidential House in Nay Pyi Taw on November 23.

“Plan is under way to hold two conferences in 2018. One conference has been held. The second one will take place in December or in early 2019. It is a quota for 2018. There will be two conferences in 2019. According to the political framework, at least two conferences are to be held in a year,” he added.

The third round of the 21st Century Panglong Conference was held in late July. At the conference, in accord with the political framework dialogue, the agreement was reached on holding one more conference in 2018 and two conferences in 2019 and laying down the basic principles for the democracy and federal system as the basic foundation of the Union.

Since taking office, the incumbent government has held the conference three times. The 37-point agreement was reached at the second round of the 21st Century Panglong Conference and the 14-point agreement, at the third round of the conference. They have been singed as the part-1 and part-2 of the Union Accord.

The Karen National Union (KNU) which has signed the Nationwide Ceasefire Agreement (NCA) has suspended its participation in official meetings pertaining to the peace. In addition, the Restoration Council of Shan State (RCSS)/ Shan State Army (SSA) have suspended its participation in the Joint Monitoring Committee’s meetings.

From November 16 to 18, the government’s peace commission held an informal meeting with the Karenni National Progressive Party (KNPP) and the Kachin Independence Organization (KIO), which have not signed the NCA, the KNU and the RCSS/SSA, in Thailand.