(VNF) - US President Barack Obama on Wednesday said Washington is ready to lift economic sanctions on Myanmar.

US President Barack Obama said Washington is ready to lift economic sanctions on Myanmar (Photo: Alex Wong/Getty Images)

He made the announcement after meeting with Myanmar's de facto leader Aung San Suu Kyi in the Oval Office, a symbolic image of his moves toward repairing broken US relationships across the globe.

"In part because of the progress we've seen over the last several months, I indicated after consulting with Daw Suu that the United States is now prepared to lift sanctions we've imposed upon Burma for quite some time," Obama said.

"It is the right thing to do in order to ensure the people of Burma see the rewards from a new way of doing business and a new government."

Obama didn't specify precisely which sanctions would be lifted, but said the relief would come "soon." 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./.

Minh Phuong