Former New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson said Monday he would work toward securing the release of two Reuters journalists arrested in Myanmar in his capacity as a member of an international advisory board on the crisis in Rakhine state.

Richardson said he was chosen by Myanmar's de facto leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, to sit on the 10-member board that will advise on how to implement recommendations of an earlier commission headed by former U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan regarding the situation in the state.

Richardson told Reuters he would travel to Myanmar next week, along with the chairman of the advisory board, Surakiart Sathirathai, a former Thai foreign minister, who has also called for the journalists' release. He said he was seeking an appointment with Myanmar's minister of home affairs.