US President Donald Trump will meet with Thai Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha, who led a military coup against a democratically-elected government three years ago, at the White House on Oct 3.

"The president and prime minister will discuss ways to strengthen and broaden bilateral relations and enhance cooperation in the Indo-Pacific region," said a White House statement, according to Reuters.

Prayut ousted then prime minister Yingluck Shinawatra, who fled the country last month ahead of a verdict against her in a negligence trial brought by the junta that overthrew her.

Yingluck (photo) has been hit with a series of junta-led prosecutions, including a case centred on the multi-billion dollar losses incurred by a rice subsidy scheme for farmers, for which she faced up to 10 years in prison if found guilty.

Prayuth seized power in May 2014, the military’s second coup in less than a decade and its 12th successful power grab since 1932.

Yingluck’s billionaire brother, Thaksin, was ousted as prime minister in a 2006 coup.

The Shinawatras have won all general elections since 2001 by promising greater wealth and opportunity to the nation’s poor, especially in the long-neglected north and northeast.

But their parties were loathed by a Bangkok elite and by southern voters - backed by the military establishment - which accused them of corruption and nepotism.

Prayut is the second controversial Southeast Asian prime minister to meet Trump at the White House in as many months.

Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak, who is linked to the multi-billion dollar 1MBD scandal which is being investigated by US Department of Justice, met Trump earlier this month.