NEW DELHI — Min Aung Hlaing is on his first international trip as Myanmar's president, visiting India from Saturday to Wednesday for talks with Indian leaders. He was sworn in as Myanmar's president in April 2026 following elections that Western governments and rights groups dismissed as a sham.

The visit comes five years after Min Aung Hlaing, then chief of Myanmar's armed forces, deposed the elected government led by Aung San Suu Kyi in 2021. A civil war erupted afterward and has claimed tens of thousands of lives. Millions of people were disenfranchised in the 2026 elections due to the ongoing conflict, and Aung San Suu Kyi's political party was barred from competing.

During his stay in New Delhi, Min Aung Hlaing is scheduled to hold talks with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, meet Indian President Droupadi Murmu, and engage with Indian business leaders. India's foreign ministry stated that the visit is expected to "strengthen and deepen multi-faceted relations" between the two countries. Issues expected to be discussed include drug and arms smuggling, human trafficking, and security along their 1,000-kilometer (621-mile) porous border.

Myanmar is concerned about resistance activity near its border with India, while India is focused on insurgent groups in its northeastern states. India also has an interest in accessing Myanmar's rare earths deposits, as China currently dominates the regional supply chain for these critical minerals.

Most analysts had anticipated Min Aung Hlaing’s first foreign trip would be to China, described as the Myanmar military’s biggest international backer and a supporter of the 2026 election. China’s foreign minister, Wang Yi, visited Myanmar in April 2026.

Morgan Michaels, a Myanmar analyst at the International Institute for Strategic Studies in Singapore, said, "India has more or less maintained its relationship with Naypyidaw since the coup, having assessed that the Tatmadaw was here to stay. It sent its minister of external affairs to the swearing in ceremony for Min Aung Hlaing in April, suggesting that New Delhi is keen to move forward with the new regime."

Richard Horsey, an analyst at the International Crisis Group, said, "They will also be focused right now on diplomatic consolidation. That is, getting back to a normal relationship with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations [ASEAN], from which they've been kind of suspended. They'll be looking to reverse that and normalize their relationship. And I think they'll be looking to get back Myanmar's seat at the United Nations in New York which is still, at the moment, being occupied by the previous ambassador appointed by Aung San Suu Kyi."