Rangoon, Sept. 16 (ANI): The upcoming visits of Myanmar President Thein Sein and opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi to the United States are emerging as a potential turning points for the future of the country's reform process.
The key point of discussion between the leaders will be whether the United States will relax a long-standing ban on importing Myanmar-made products.
According to the Wall Street Journal, Suu Kyi, a Nobel Peace Prize winner, is scheduled to fly on Sunday to the U.S, where, among other things, she is set to receive a Congressional medal awarded for her pro-democracy advocacy in 2008.
Thein Sein, whose schedule is subject to change, is expected to travel to the United Nations General Assembly meetings in New York later this month after first visiting China.
According to the report, the arrival of two of the main politicians represents an opportunity for the U.S. to encourage further reforms in the country.
Restrictions on U.S. companies investing in Myanmar have already been eased, prompting moves by firms such as Visa Inc., MasterCard Inc. and Coca-Cola Co. to begin planning their entry into the country of 60 million people, the report said.
Myanmar is also working on a law clarifying the guidelines enabling foreign companies to begin investing in the country in earnest.
In a speech to foreign investors in the Myanmar capital, Naypyitaw, this week, U.S. Ambassador to Myanmar Derek Mitchell vowed that Washington's earlier moves to ease investment restrictions "will not be the end of the process of changing U.S. policy" towards Myanmar.
"We are very serious about working with Myanmar to promote change, even if fully extracting ourselves from the Byzantine array of restrictions imposed over the years may take some time," Mitchell said. (ANI)
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