Webb visits Myanmar

United States Senator Jim Webb held a news conference at the U.S. embassy in Yangon on Wednesday (April 11) to discuss the possibility of lifting sanctions in Myanmar after the nation's by-elections.

Myanmar Nobel Peace Prize laureate Aung San Suu Kyi party won an April 1 by election in a landslide, scooping 43 of 45 available seats in the legislature.

The election appears to have been endorsed by the West, and countries such as Britain, France and the United States have given heavy hints they may start to undo some sanctions in response to the ballot and other reforms in the year since the authoritarian military regime ceded power to a civilian-led administration.

Webb, from Virginia, praised the current government for its genuine efforts to resolve political and ethnic divisions.

(SOUNDBITE)(English) U.S. SENATOR JIM WEBB SAYING:

"When I return to Washington to engage in discussions with other members of Congress, with the leaders of our administration, so that we can find the right way to look at changes in policy that will reward the positive actions that this current government has taken, and also to continue incentives for future change."

Webb said he sees a time when the U.S. and Myanmar will have full economic and diplomatic relations.

He stressed how sanctions can have a negative impact in the economic development of a country, adding that he hopes the international community, including the U.S., will begin to invest in Myanmar. Webb said he is keen for the U.S. to help facilitate the growth in the country.