Cameron on Historic Visit to Myanmar

British Prime Minister David Cameron on Friday held talks with Myanmar's reformist regime and opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi as he became the first Western leader to visit the country in decades.

The landmark trip comes as world powers consider ending economic sanctions against the former pariah state following recent elections which gave Nobel Peace Prize winner Suu Kyi her first-ever seat in parliament.

President Thein Sein, an ex-general who heads the country's new quasi-civilian government, hailed a "historic" moment as he welcomed Cameron to his official residence in the showpiece capital Naypyidaw.

"We are very pleased and encouraged by your acknowledgement of Myanmar's efforts to promote democracy and human rights," he said.

After about 40 minutes of talks, followed by lunch, with Thein Sein, Cameron flew to the former capital Yangon and met Suu Kyi at the lakeside home where she spent much of the past 22 years locked up at the hands of the former junta.

The activist holds huge influence in the United States and Europe, particularly London, and a move on sanctions would almost certainly need her support.

Britain -- Myanmar's former colonial ruler -- has traditionally taken a hardline stance on sanctions because of human rights concerns, but it has recently shown signs of softening its position.

"This country really matters. For decades it has suffered under a brutal dictatorship and it's also desperately poor," Cameron said shortly after arriving in Naypyidaw.

"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 come here and encourage those steps."

Cameron, who was greeted at the airport by top officials and an honor guard, lauded opposition leader Suu Kyi as "a shining example for people all over the world who yearn for freedom, for democracy and for progress.”

Speaking in Jakarta a day earlier, he described the veteran dissident as "inspirational".

A steady stream of foreign dignitaries, including U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and British Foreign Secretary William Hague, have visited Myanmar since a new quasi-civilian government took power last year.

But Cameron is the first Western head of government to go there since the military seized power in 1962, ushering in almost half a century of repressive junta rule and isolation from the West.

He is believed to be the first serving British prime minister to visit Myanmar, which won independence in 1948.

If Myanmar can persuade Cameron that reforms will continue, the EU could agree to a "substantial relaxation of sanctions", said Derek Tonkin, a former British ambassador to Thailand and an advocate of engagement with Naypyidaw.

He added, however, that the impact of EU sanctions had been limited and moves to end the stigma of doing business in Myanmar could be more significant.

"I think as far as most people are concerned, they would like the discouragement of trade, investment and tourism -- which has been the particular British hallmark -- to stop so that it's OK for Standard Chartered, HSBC, Shell and BP and other British companies to go in," Tonkin said.

The 27-nation European Union already lifted some restrictions against the regime this year and foreign ministers will decide the next steps when they meet on April 23.

Foreign ministers from the Group of Eight world powers -- Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia and the United States -- on Thursday welcomed "significant steps" by Myanmar toward democratic reform.

"The ministers will consider the easing of sanctions to help this country embed reform and fully integrate into international and regional political and economic processes," they said in a final statement after talks in Washington.

Cameron was accompanied by a group of British corporate executives, but because of the sanctions they were expected to refrain from any business-related activities.