English subtitles for clip: File:President Obama's Bilateral Meeting with President Thein Sein of Myanmar.webm

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President Obama:
I want to welcome President
Thein Sein to the United States

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of America and to
the Oval Office.

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(translation being made)

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Last year, I was proud to make a
historic visit to Myanmar as the

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first U.S. President ever
to visit that country.

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(translation being made)

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And now President Sein is able
to return the favor by making a

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visit to the United States, and
my understanding is that this is

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the first visit by a leader of
Myanmar in almost 50 years.

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(translation being made)

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Obviously, during this period
in between there have been

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significant bilateral tensions
between our countries.

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(translation being made)

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But what has allowed this shift
in relations is the leadership

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that President Sein has shown in
moving Myanmar down a path of

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both political and
economic reform.

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(translation being made)

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Over the last two years, we've
seen a steady process in which

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political prisoners,
including Aung San Suu Kyi,

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have been released and have
been incorporated into the

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political process.

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(translation being made)

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We've seen credible elections
and a legislature that is

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continuing to make strides
in the direction of more

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inclusivity and greater
representation of all the

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various groups within Myanmar.

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(translation being made)

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President Sein has also made
genuine efforts to resolve

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longstanding ethnic conflicts
within the country.

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(translation being made)

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And has recognized the need to
establish laws that respect the

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rights of the people of Myanmar.

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(translation being made)

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As a consequence of these
changes in policy inside of

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Myanmar, the United States has
been able to relax sanctions

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that had been placed on Myanmar,
and many countries around the

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world have followed suit.

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(translation being made)

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And this has also allowed
the United States and other

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countries and international
institutions to participate in

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engagement with the Myanmar
government about how we can be

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helpful in spurring economic
development that is broad-based

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and that produces concrete
results for the people

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of Myanmar.

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(translation being made)

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And that includes the prospect
of increasing trade and

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investment in Myanmar, which
can produce jobs and higher

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standards of living.

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(translation being made)

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But as President Sein
is the first to admit,

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this is a long journey and there
is still much work to be done.

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(translation being made)

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And during our discussions,
President Sein shared with me

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the fact -- the manner in which
he intends to continue to move

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forward on releasing more
political prisoners;

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making sure that the government
of Myanmar institutionalizes

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some of the political reforms
that have already taken place;

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how rule of law is codified
so that it continues into the

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future; and the process whereby
these ethnic conflicts that have

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existed are resolved not simply
by a ceasefire but an actual

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incorporation of all these
communities into the

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political process.

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(translation being made)

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I also shared with President
Sein our deep concern about

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communal violence that has been
directed at Muslim communities

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inside of Myanmar.

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(translation being made)

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The displacement of people, the
violence directed towards them

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needs to stop, and we are
prepared to work in any ways

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that we can with both the
government of Myanmar and the

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international community to
assure that people are getting

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the help that they need
but, more importantly,

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that their rights and their
dignity is recognized over

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the long term.

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(translation being made)

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As I indicated to
President Sein,

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countries that are successful
are countries that tap into the

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talents of all people and
respect the rights of

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all people.

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And I'm confident that if
Myanmar follows that recipe,

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that it will be not only a
successful democracy but also a

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thriving economy.

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(translation being made)

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We also discussed some very
concrete projects that we've

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already initiated.

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For example, USAID is already
working to evaluate how we can

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improve agricultural
productivity in Myanmar that can

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benefit farmers,
increase incomes,

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and improve standards
of living in a largely

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agricultural country.

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(translation being made)

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And we're also
working, for example,

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on projects like improving the
road that currently exists

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between Rangoon and Mandalay.

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(translation being made)

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Finally, I want to thank
President Sein for his

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participation in ASEAN and the
East Asia Summit in which the

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United States is
actively engaged in,

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all the countries
in Southeast Asia,

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as part of our broader
refocusing on the Asia Pacific

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region -- a region of enormous
growth and potential with which

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we want to continue to
strengthen our bonds.

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(translation being made)

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So, Mr. President, welcome to
the United States of America.

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We very much appreciate your
efforts and leadership in

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leading Myanmar in
a new direction,

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and we want you to know that the
United States will make every

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effort to assist you on
what I know is a long,

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and sometimes difficult,
but ultimately correct path

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to follow.

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(translation being made)

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President Sein:
(speaking in a foreign language)

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(as translated)
I would like to express my
sincere thanks to President

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Obama for inviting me to
come to the United States.

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Indeed, this is my very first
visit to Washington, D.C.,

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as well as to the White House.

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And I am also very pleased to
have this opportunity to discuss

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about the democratization
process and reform process

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undertaken in my country.

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(speaking in a foreign language)

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(as translated)
Our two countries established
diplomatic relations since 1947,

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a year before our independence.

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And since then we have
been able to enjoy --

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historically, our two countries
have enjoyed cordial relations,

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and there were
also exchange of --

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high-level exchange of visit
between our two countries.

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(speaking in a foreign language)

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(as translated)
But I have to say that in the
past there were difficulties in

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our bilateral relationship.

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But now we are very pleased that
our relations have been improved

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significantly, and I am very
thankful that in 50 years I am

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repaying a visit to the United
States at the invitation of

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President Obama.

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And I am very grateful for
extending an invitation to me to

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pay a visit to
the United States.

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(speaking in a foreign language)

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(as translated)
Now that our country, Myanmar,
has started to practice

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democratic system, so we
can say that we have --

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both our countries have similar
political system in our

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two countries.

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(speaking in a foreign language)

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(as translated)
As you all know, our
government is just --

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our democratic government
is just two years old.

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And we have -- within the
short period of two years,

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our government has carried out
political and economic reforms

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in our country.

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Because we are in a very
nascent stage of democratic --

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a democratic stage, we still
need a lot of democratic

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experience and
practices to be learned.

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And we have seen successes.

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At the same time, we have been
encountering obstacle and

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challenges along our
democratization process -- path.

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(speaking in a foreign language)

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(as translated)
The improvement in our relation
is also in recognition --

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U.S. government's recognition of
our democratization efforts and

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our genuine efforts for
democratization process in

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our country.

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And it is also due to --
thanks to President Obama's

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reengagement policy to reengage
with our country so that we

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have seen improvement in our
bilateral relation within a

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short period of time.

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(speaking in a foreign language)

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(as translated)
Myanmar, being a
developing country,

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and as we are undertaking
changes of our democratization

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reforms, it is a daunting
task ahead of us.

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We encounter many challenges,
such as the present --

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our poverty rate in the country
is quite high and we have very

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few job opportunity, and
then as well as we have a --

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we do not have much middle
class in our country.

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And then we -- our people
needs to be all familiar with

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democratic practice,
democratic norms and values.

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So we have a lot of challenges
ahead of us, but we have to --

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thanks to the U.S. government
and the people support them for

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understanding that we will
be able to encounter these

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challenges as we undertake the
reform process in our country.

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(speaking in a foreign language)

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(as translated)
During my meeting with --
our discussion with President,

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as he has already elaborated, we
discussed about the rule of law

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in our country; the
strengthening of judicial

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bodies; the providing assistance 
so that our police and military

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force become
professional forces.

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And then to reiterate, we also
discussed what related to the

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poverty alleviation for the
rural people and farmers,

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agriculture, development, as
well as how uplifting the health

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and education sectors
of our countries.

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So we had a very fruitful
discussion with President Obama,

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and then I must say that I
am very pleased to have this

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opportunity to have a candid
and frank discussion with

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President Obama.

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And I believe that I have my
visit to the United States is

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quite successful and meaningful.

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(speaking in a foreign language)

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(as translated)
So for democracy to
flourish in our country,

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we will have to move forward
and we will have to undertake

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reforms -- political reforms
and economic reforms in the

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years ahead.

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We will also have to -- we are
trying our best with our own

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efforts to have political and
economic reforms in our country.

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But we will also need
-- along this path,

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we will also need the assistance
and understanding from the

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international community,
including the United States.

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And what I want to say is that
President Obama has frequently

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used the word "forward."

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And I will take this opportunity
to reiterate that Myanmar and I

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will continue to
take the forward --

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move forward so
that we will have --

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we can build a new
democratic state --

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a new Myanmar, a new democratic
state in our country.

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(speaking in a foreign language)

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(as translated)
I thank you all.

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President Obama:
Thank you, everybody.