President Office spokesman Zaw Htay said that Karenni National Progressive Party (KNPP) has agreed to sign the Nationwide Ceasefire Agreement (NCA) after an upcoming meeting with government and Tatmadaw (Defence Services) in coming April. 

“We will have a formal talk with the KNPP in coming April. They will come and meet with the National Reconciliation and Peace Centre (NRPC) and then with the Tatmadaw. We have an agreement with them for signing NCA after completing this meeting,” Zaw Htay said. 

He was talking to the media at a press conference held on March 29 at the press briefing room of Presidential Palace. 

The KNPP agreed to sign the NCA previously but it had been delayed due to probable reasons of a lack of consensus among KNPP top leaders, demanding political space in their area and an incident in which some KNPP soldiers were murdered. 

The KNPP has already signed the State-level bilateral peace agreement with government in March 2012 in Loikaw. 

The KNPP has had little engagement with the Tatmadaw and has agreed to a continuation of talks at a Union level. 

According to the press conference, another non-signatory organization of NCA, Kachin Independence Organization/Kachin Independence Army (KIO/KIA), will have two more meetings with the government.