Burma: Clinton ends 50 years of isolation

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton shakes hands with Myanmar Deputy Foreign Minister Myo Myint (Getty Images)

The US Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton, greeted Deputy Foreign Minister Myo Myint after arriving in Burma yesterday for a historic visit that acknowledges the country's cautious reforms and underlines its expanding role in the struggle for influence in the region.

Mrs Clinton, the highest-ranking US official to visit long-isolated Burma in half a century, said: "I am obviously looking to determine for myself and on behalf of our government what is the intention of the current government with respect to continuing reforms."