US President Barack Obama was to discuss Myanmar's reform efforts with Myanmar President Thein Sein on Monday in the first visit by a leader of the Asian nation to Washington in decades, news agencies reported. The two leaders were to meet Monday in the Oval Office in the latest step in warming relations between the two countries, after a visit by Obama in November to Myanmar. "The president looks forward to discussing with President Thein Sein the many remaining challenges to efforts to develop democracy, address communal and ethnic tensions and bring economic opportunity to the people of his country, and to exploring how the United States can help," the White House said. Washington eased economic sanctions on Myanmar last year in recognition of political and economic reforms implemented since Thein Sein came to power in March 2011. The Obama administration left in place some sanctions as leverage to encourage the Myanmar government to maintain the reform process. Thein Sein will be the first head of state from Myanmar to visit the United States in more than five decades.
