Myanmar has agreed to allow all aid workers to participate in relief efforts for cyclone survivors, United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon said after meeting leader Than Shwe in Naypyidaw on Friday.
Ban later told mediapersons, "Than Shwe has agreed to allow all aid workers regardless of nationalities." Ban said the agreement marked a breakthrough He said that the general had a very flexible position on the aid workers' issue
Than Shwe has also agreed to allow Yangon airport to be the hub for aid distribution, Ban said. Than Shwe had previously refused to allow foreign aid workers after the storm.
The two leaders met in the junta's newly built capital of Naypyidaw, where Than Shwe rules in complete isolation.
Ban is the seniormost foreign leader to visit Naypyidaw, the new capital city, where Than Shwe relocated the entire government in 2005. Their meeting lasted for over two hours.
The final discussions involved only Ban, his chief of staff Vijay Nambiar, Than Shwe and four top Myanmarese generals.
