Aung San Suu Kyi
Myanmar’s Aung San Suu Kyi met President Barack Obama at the White House on Wednesday on her first visit to the United States since her party won a sweeping victory in last year’s election, capping a decades-long journey from political prisoner to national leader.
With Suu Kyi no longer an opposition figure, the United States is weighing a further easing of sanctions against Myanmar, formerly known as Burma, as Obama looks to normalise relations with a country Washington shunned when it was ruled by a military junta.
Suu Kyi also was expected to meet other US officials including Secretary of State John Kerry and senior members of Congress.
“Before it was very much encouraging her (Suu Kyi) and supporting her in her role as someone pushing for increased democracy. Now they (US officials) are meeting someone in charge of the government,” said Murray Hiebert, a Southeast Asia expert at Washington’s Centre for Strategic and International Studies.
Kyi and Obama
Obama is expected to consult with Suu Kyi on whether to further ease US sanctions to help investment and the democratic transition in her country, the White House said.
As Suu Kyi arrived at the White House, Obama issued a statement saying he would reinstate Myanmar to the Generalised System of Preferences (GSP), which provides duty-free treatment for goods from poor and developing countries.
Myanmar was removed from GSP benefits in 1989 following pro-democracy uprisings a year earlier that were brutally suppressed by the ruling military junta.
Passionate photos of both leaders below after speech
The United States eased some sanctions against Myanmar earlier this year to support political reform but maintained most of its economic restrictions with an eye toward penalizing those it views as hampering the democratically elected government.
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