US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has held landmark talks with Burma's rulers, saying she was "encouraged" by reform moves from the new regime after decades of repression and isolation.
The top diplomat, sent by President Barack Obama on a mission to encourage change in Burma, is also due to meet famed pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi.
Burmese President Thein Sein hailed a "new chapter in relations" with Washington during talks at the presidential palace in the remote capital Naypyidaw.
Mrs Clinton told the former general, who has overseen a series of reforms, that "President Obama and myself are encouraged by the steps that you and your government have taken to provide for your people".
Burma, officially known as Myanmar, was ruled by the military for decades until elections last year brought a nominally civilian government to power, albeit one with close links to the army.
Later Mrs Clinton will head to Rangoon, the commercial hub of Burma, where she will meet Ms Suu Kyi twice.
The Nobel Peace Prize winner holds huge influence in Washington and any easing of US sanctions on Burma would almost certainly need her approval.
Ms Suu Kyi, who has held a series of meetings with the regime since her release from house arrest in November, told a conference in Washington via video link yesterday that she hoped Mrs Clinton's visit would spur further reform.
"I hope Secretary Clinton's visit will open the way toward a better relationship", Ms Suu Kyi said.
"I've always been in favour of engagement. I would certainly be very happy to see the United States engaging more with Burma."
Ms Suu Kyi's opposition, which boycotted last year's poll, plans to contest by-elections in a major test of how far the government is ready to accept political reforms.
There are 48 seats up for grabs but no date has been set for a vote yet.
Ms Suu Kyi confirmed recently that she personally planned to stand in the polls.
Since taking over, Thein Sein has launched dialogue with Ms Suu Kyi and ethnic minorities with which it is fighting some of the world's longest-running wars.
But activists say that anywhere between 500 and more than 1,600 political prisoners remain behind bars and that the situation in ethnic areas remains dire.
