Philippine Foreign Secretary Alberto Romulo says he is planning a short visit to Burma before leaders of the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations meet in December.
Romulo said today Friday that he expects to meet with Burmese officials during his visit, which is expected in June. It is not clear if he will be allowed to meet with detained pro-democracy activist Aung San Suu Kyi.
Romulo says he is making the trip at the invitation of Burmese officials.
Last month, Malaysian Foreign Minister Hamid Albar visited Burma as an ASEAN envoy to check on democratic reform in the military-ruled country. He was unable to meet with the democracy leader during that visit.
ASEAN foreign ministers met last week in Indonesia to discuss a strategy for pushing Burma's military-ruled government towards democracy. But the group came away from that meeting deciding only that there was little it could do.
ASEAN groups Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam and Burma.
