Aung San Suu Kyi to meet Myanmar President Thein Sein
Myanmar opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi (C) walks out of her National League for Democracy (NLD) headquarters after attending a meeting of the NLD campaign committee with newly-elected NLD candidates in the April 1 by-elections in Yangon on April 7, 2012. Suu Kyi’s party won almost all the seats it contested in Myanmar elections, becoming the main opposition force in the national parliament, official results showed.
Myanmar opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi is set to meet President Thein Sein on Wednesday for an important meeting before she takes her seat in parliament, according to the Associated Press.
The National League for Democracy spokesman, Nyan Win, said Suu Kyi and Thein Sein would likely discuss democratization and peace talks with the ethnic rebels in Myanmar, also known as Burma.
A meeting between Thein Sein and Suu Kyi last August paved the way for democratic reforms in the country that had been ruled by a military junta for decades, allowing the NLD to participate in the latest elections after boycotting those held in 2010. The NLD won the April 1 by-election by a landslide, taking 43 out of 45 seats in the legislature.
Upon their last meeting, Suu Kyi said she believed Thein Sein was sincere and "genuinely wishes for democratic reforms," according to the AP.
More on GlobalPost: Burma: Official date set for Suu Kyi's entry to parliament
Suu Kyi will be taking her seat in parliament, along with 36 other NLD candidates on April 23, according to the Guardian. In addition to those, the NLD also won four seats in the senate and two seats in regional assemblies.
April 23 also marks the expiration of some European Union sanctions, according to the Guardian. Diplomats suggested that some restrictions such as visa bans and investment in certain sectors would be lifted while others, like arms bans and trade concessions, would be kept in place.
As another measure of easing tensions with the West, United Kingdom Prime Minister David Cameron will reportedly be the first Western leader to visit the country since the elections, according to the BBC.
More on GlobalPost: Myanmar election brings new hope and the same old worries
US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton made a landmark visit to Myanmar in December 2011, meeting with Suu Kyi. On Monday, Clinton said she spoke with Suu Kyi and told her that "she was moving from an icon to a politician." She added, "Now you go to a parliament and you start compromising, which is what democracy is all about. It's not a dirty word," according to the AFP.
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