Vatican City, May 4 (IANS/AKI) The Vatican said on Thursday it will establish diplomatic relations with Myanmar as Pope Francis met the country's effective leader, Nobel peace laureate Aung San Suu Kyi.
The decision to establish diplomatic ties "would promote bonds of friendship" between the two states, the Vatican said in a statement.
Aung San Suu Kyi's visit to Italy and the Vatican came as Myanmar's government faced international criticism for the army's treatment of the country's minority Rohingya Muslims in the state of Rakhine.
The Pope has appealed for prayers for the Rohingya in Buddhist-majority Myanmar.
--IANS/AKI
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