Washington, DC (BBN) – Special Representative and Policy Coordinator for Burma Ambassador Derek Mitchell held a productive meeting with Burma’s Foreign Minister Wunna Maung Lwin on Friday at the U.S. Department of State, together with Democracy, Human Rights and Labor Assistant Secretary Michael Posner and East Asian and Pacific Affairs Assistant Secretary Kurt Campbell.

This is Foreign Minister Wunna Maung Lwin’s first visit to the U.S. Department of State. In 2009, Burma’s Foreign Minister Nyan Win visited Washington and in 2010, he met with State Department officials in New York, an official statement said.

“The United States maintains a dual-track policy on Burma, which includes principled engagement and the continuation of sanctions. This meeting reflects the United States’ commitment to principled engagement and the Burmese government’s willingness to discuss our core concerns including human rights, political prisoners, democracy, national reconciliation and nonproliferation, which are critical to improving the U.S.-Burma bilateral relationship,” it said.

These discussions build on Ambassador Mitchell, Assistant Secretary Campbell and Assistant Secretary Posner’s conversations in New York on the margins of the United Nations General Assembly and Ambassador Mitchell’s conversations during his recent trip to Nay Pyi Taw earlier in September.

BBN/SSR/AD-01Oct11-1:11 am (BST)