(VOVworld) – US President Barack Obama on Wednesday said Washington is ready to lift economic sanctions on Myanmar. The statement was made during a first meeting with Myanmar's State Counselor Aung San Suu Kyi in the Oval Office. 

US President Barack Obama on Wednesday said Washington is ready to lift economic sanctions on Myanmar (Photo: AFP/ TTXVN)

Obama said it is the right thing to do to ensure that the Myanmar people are rewarded for a new way of doing business and a new government. He also released a statement saying Myanmar will be reinstated to the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP), which provides duty-free treatment of imports from poor and developing countries.

Ms Suu Kyi said the time has come to remove all sanctions that hurt Myanmar economically, and that the country is making progress in its democratic reforms although many things still need to be done. Myanmar officials said the government is working to reform Myanmar’s law on foreign investment.