Ko Min Thaw Htut floats Myanmar as host for Asia News Network’s next gathering

A possible international media gathering in Myanmar drew attention at a regional board meeting in Thailand, where Eleven Media Group chief executive Ko Min Thaw Htut discussed bringing next year’s Asia News Network conference to the country. The proposal emerged during the ANN Board Meeting in Chiang Mai on November 6, according to reports. Ko Min Thaw Htut said he sensed interest among media representatives from across the region in learning more about Myanmar. He reported that several chief executives and editors-in-chief from ANN member organizations had expressed a wish to visit, while people from Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia had also shown interest. He described a Myanmar-hosted meeting as an opportunity to encourage mutual understanding and strengthen relations. The comments present the idea as a possibility under discussion, rather than a confirmed decision: the annual board meeting rotates among member countries, and no final host announcement was reported. The network’s recent meetings have taken place in several Asian cities. Its board meeting and the 2025 HIT Forum were held in Seoul last year, while Beijing hosted the 2023 board meeting. ANN was established in 1999 with seven member organizations from seven countries and has since grown to 23 organizations across 21 countries. Eleven Media Group joined in 2013. ANN brings together media organizations from Southeast Asia and other parts of Asia. Its members include newspapers and news groups from countries including Bangladesh, Cambodia, China, India, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan, the Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, Thailand and Vietnam. The network resumed its board meetings in Beijing after the COVID-19 pandemic and marked its 25th anniversary in Kuala Lumpur.