Clinton to meet with Myanmar president in recognition of reforms By Jill Dougherty and Jethro Mullen, CNN July 12, 2012 -- Updated 0603 GMT (1403 HKT) Hillary Clinton will meet Thein Sein in the Cambodian tourism hub of Siem Reap The meeting is a reward for the recent political reforms in Myanmar Clinton is in Cambodia for a regional conference (CNN) -- U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton will meet Friday with Thein Sein, the president of Myanmar who has overseen a series of political reforms in the Southeast Asian country over the past year, a senior State Department official said. Clinton is in Cambodia at the moment to attend a regional conference after having visited a string of Asian countries in the past few days. She will meet Thein Sein in Siem Reap, a fast-growing Cambodian tourism hub next to the spectacular temples of Angkor. The announcement comes after President Barack Obama said Wednesday that the United States was easing sanctions on Myanmar, allowing American companies to do business there. The U.S. government considers the meeting with Clinton a reward for the Myanmar government's progress in undertaking reforms, the State Department official said. In the past year, the authorities in Myanmar, which is also known as Burma, have released hundreds of political prisoners and allowed the party of pro-democracy leader Aung Sang Suu Kyi to participate in by-elections. They have also engaged in peace talks with ethnic rebel groups.