Myanmar President U Thein Sein and Commander-in-Chief of the Defense Service Min Aung Hlaing met separately with a special delegation of the Kachin Independence Organisation (KIO) in Nay Pyi Taw on March 16 to discuss peace efforts.

The meetings took place a day ahead of the planned 7th round of ceasefire talks between the government's Union Peace-Making Work Committee (UPWC) and the ethnic armed groups' Nationwide Ceasefire Coordination Team (NCCT) in Yangon on March 17 to finalise the draft nationwide ceasefire accord.

Earlier, the KIO met Vice President Sai Mauk Kham, who is also UPWC chairman, on March 15.-VNA