At U.N., Myanmar Leader Highlights Steps to Reform President Thein Sein of Myanmar, center, spoke at the Asia Society on Thursday in New York. The president of Myanmar, a former general who has led the move away from a prolonged era of dictatorship, poverty and isolation, asserted on Thursday in his first United Nations speech that "amazing changes" were transforming his country and could never be reversed. The president, U Thein Sein, also paid homage to the country's opposition leader, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, a Nobel Peace Prize winner and former political prisoner whose liberation from nearly two decades of house arrest in 2010 signaled the beginning of Myanmar's gradual emergence from pariah status. "As a Myanmar citizen, I would like to congratulate her for the honors she has received in this country in recognition of her efforts for democracy,"said Mr. Thein Sein in his address to the United Nations General Assembly. It was the first time that Mr. Thein Sein had praised Ms. Aung San Suu Kyi in such a public way, and appeared to reflect growing confidence that his navigation of Myanmar's political system away from decades of authoritarian rule would not be challenged at home, where many of his colleagues in the military are known to be ambivalent about the changes. In another first, Mr. Thein Sein's speech was broadcast live in Myanmar, The Associated Press reported, so people at home could see for themselves the president's outspoken tribute to Ms. Aung San Suu Kyi, who is widely considered the country's most popular politician and has expressed the hope of becoming president one day. Mr. Thein Sein spoke a day after Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, in a meeting with him, announced that the United States intended to ease a ban on imports from Myanmar, one of the last remaining American sanctions on the country, as a reward for his efforts. The easing could further strengthen Mr. Thein Sein's political stature in Myanmar, where the sanctions are a major impediment to the economy. Mr. Thein Sein was only removed from an American sanctions blacklist last week. He devoted much of his General Assembly speech to enumerating the political changes in his country, including the creation of an elected legislature, an end to censorship, the granting of amnesty to hundreds of prisoners and the attempt to create a culture of political dialogue and tolerance, where citizens can disagree without fear of retribution. "Within a short time, the people of Myanmar have been able to bring about amazing changes," he said. They have been taking tangible, irreversible steps in the democratic reform process. Myanmar, he said, "is now ushering in a new era." He also acknowledged the country's litany of problems, including the levels of abject poverty and stunning gaps between rich and poor, and vowed that economic development would not widen those gaps. The president also said Myanmar was still confronting protracted ethnic insurgencies, including a dispute with the Kachin, a Christian minority near the China border, and the Rohingya Muslims along the Bangladesh border. Myanmar is predominantly Buddhist. "People inhabiting our country regardless of religion have a right to live in peace and security," he said. Later in an appearance at the Asia Society in New York, the president acknowledged that the era of authoritarian rule in Myanmar had led to a significant exodus of educated people, who are desperately needed back home. "It's true that many of our citizens - doctors, engineers and entrepreneurs - they are working out in foreign countries," he said through a translator. That might have something to do with the previous political systems. Kim Fararo contributed reporting.