Nay Pyi Taw, Burma: David Cameron has arrived in Burmese capital Nay Pyi Taw, becoming the first British prime minister to visit Burma.
He met President Thein Sein and is to hold discussions with pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi in Rangoon.
Speaking on arrival, Mr Cameron said the government had to demonstrate that moves to democracy were “irreversible”.
He is the first Western leader to visit Burma since Ms Suu Kyi’s success in a series of parliamentary by-elections.
Burma was ruled for almost half a century by a military junta that stifled almost all dissent and wielded absolute power. The EU, US and other nations imposed sanctions.
“There is a government now that says it is committed to reform, that has started to take steps, and I think it is right to encourage those steps,” Cameron said.
But he added: “We should be under no illusions about what a long way there is to go and how much more the government has to do to genuinely show this reform is real and that it’s irreversible, and we should be very cautious and very sceptical about that.”
He also said he wanted to meet Ms Suu Kyi, describing her as “a shining example for people who yearn for freedom, for democracy, for progress”.
Burma is the final leg of the prime minister’s tour of South East Asia promoting UK interests.
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