(Reuters) - The European Union will suspend travel bans on the president of Myanmar and other senior officials, following reforms that have included the release of hundreds of political prisoners.
And EU foreign ministers held out the prospect of a further easing of sanctions in April if a "remarkable programme of political reform" and a commitment to economic and social development continued.
In the steps agreed on Monday, the EU said it would suspend visa bans on Myanmar's president, Thein Sein, the country's vice-presidents, cabinet members and parliamentary speakers.
French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe said he saw real willingness by the government to liberalise and democratise and was now watching whether Myanmar freed political prisoners, allowed strikes, and held transparent elections on April 1.
"If this process of democratisation goes further, we shall go further in lifting sanctions," he told a news conference.
EU sanctions were imposed after bloody military crackdowns on a pro-democracy movement led by Nobel Prize-winning dissident Aung San Suu Kyi.
They target nearly a thousand firms and institutions with asset freezes and visa bans have affected almost 500 people. The sanctions also include an arms embargo, a prohibition on technical assistance related to the military and investment bans in the mining, timber and precious metals sectors.
The EU will promote reform through aid, training and greater dialogue with the government, it said. Ministers also called for "progressive engagement" by the World Bank and International Monetary Fund.
Myanmar's strategic location at a crossroads in Asia and its resources have increasingly made the country of interest to both Western nations and its neighbours, particularly China.
Its ports on the Indian Ocean make it an important ally for Beijing and last year, China's state energy group CNPC started building a crude oil port there, part of a pipeline project aimed at cutting out the long detour oil cargoes take through the congested and strategically vulnerable Malacca Strait.
"QUITE EXTRAORDINARY CHANGES"
EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton said "quite extraordinary changes" had taken place in Myanmar in the last weeks and months and British Foreign Secretary William Hague said it was important to recognise the progress made.
Ashton said she would visit Myanmar in April after elections, coordinating the visit with Aung San Suu Kyi, with the aim of offering "full support in what we hope will be a very successful transition".
Suu Kyi, a former political prisoner freed in 2010, has reversed her stance on boycotting the army-dominated political system following the reforms and will stand in the April polls.
The reforms in Myanmar have followed a 2010 election that saw a new government take over from a military junta last March. They have included loosening media restrictions and other repressive laws, peace talks with ethnic insurgents and the freeing of hundreds of political prisoners.
Ashton sent her top foreign policy adviser to Myanmar last year, and the EU, in a move to encourage reform, slightly eased sanctions last April by suspending travel bans and asset freezes on 24 civilian government officials.
Earlier this month, the European Union said it would open a representative office in Myanmar to manage aid programmes and promote political dialogue.
The United States has decided to upgrade diplomatic ties with Myanmar as a result of its reforms and is considering lifting its sanctions if April's elections are fair and open.
(Editing by Justyna Pawlak and Ben Harding)
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