Obama to be first US president to visit Myanmar in landmark trip

President Barack Obama will visit Myanmar this month and meet both its president and its iconic opposition leader, marking a new milestone in US efforts to promote democratic reforms in the once-isolated Southeast Asian country.

Obama will travel to Myanmar as part of a Nov 17-20 tour of Southeast Asia that will include stops in Thailand and Cambodia, the White House said on Thursday as it confirmed details of his first international trip since voters gave him a second term in an election on Tuesday.

The visit to Myanmar, the first by a sitting US president, will give Obama a chance to hold talks with President Thein Sein and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Aung San Suu Kyi to encourage the country's "ongoing democratic transition", White House spokesman Jay Carney said.