Myanmar top leader Senior-General Than Shwe met on Friday morning with visiting Secretary-General of the United Nations Ban Ki-moon in Nay Pyi Taw, official sources said.
The meeting took place a day after Ban's tour to two cyclone- hit areas of Dedaye and Mawlamyinegyun in southwestern Ayeyawaddy division's delta region Thursday after his arrival in Yangon earlier on the day.
So far, the details about their meeting are not yet available.
Ban is on a visit to cyclone-devastated Myanmar to reinforce post-storm relief and rehabilitation efforts. During his tour to the cyclone-hit areas, Ban met some victims in the areas.
Ban will return to Yangon in the afternoon and meet resident representatives of UN agencies, to be followed by a press conference in the evening, according to diplomatic sources.
Ban, who arrived in Yangon on Thursday morning for a two-day visit to reinforce partnership between Myanmar and the international community including the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and key neighboring countries, had also met with Myanmar Prime Minister General Thein Sein and Minister of National Planning and Economic and Development U Soe Tha.
Ban is scheduled to leave Myanmar on Friday evening for Bangkok where he will meet Thai Prime Minister Samak Sundarvej and Foreign Minister Noppadon Saturday and be back to Yangon on Sunday to join the planned International Pledging Conference co-organized by the ASEAN and the UN to raise fund for cyclone-affected victims.
According to the Myanmar prime minister, there has been 39 donor countries and some dozens of organizations sending in a total of over 2,700 tons of aid supplies through 130 flights.
The prime minister has expressed welcome for international humanitarian assistance, saying that the country needs time and more technical and material aid for the restoration from cyclone disaster, reiterating that Myanmar receives such aid from any country but stressing that it should not be politicized.
Deadly tropical cyclone Nargis, which occurred over the Bay of Bengal, hit five divisions and states -- Ayeyawaddy, Yangon, Bago, Mon and Kayin on May 2 and 3, of which Ayeyawaddy and Yangon inflicted the heaviest casualties and massive infrastructural damage. The storm has killed 77,738 people and left 55,917 missing and 19,359 injured according to updated death toll.
(Xinhua News Agency May 23, 2008)
