British foreign secretary William Hague is currently visiting Myanmar, following Hillary Clinton's visit last month. There seems to be a new interest from Myanmar in opening to the west but their track record is not great. When I visited Myanmar nearly ten years ago, it was a country that had mostly stood still and not progressed. Is Myanmar eager to be the next factory country for the west or do they have other plans? Surely they have a plan though it's not yet clear. BBC News:
Mr Hague's visit is the latest by top world diplomats after Burma's first elections in 20 years which brought in a nominally civilian government. Since then the new administration has freed pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi and begun a process of dialogue. Last month she formally registered her National League for Democracy as a political party, after boycotting the 2010 polls because of electoral laws that prevented her taking part. In December US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton visited Burma, in what was seen as an endorsement of the reform process - although Western observers say much more is needed.
